I am home from the cottage, scurrying about making beds, tidying up, shopping and cooking, getting ready for Thanksgiving visitors. And I’m not even hosting the main meal here! Thanksgiving never lends itself to the three S’s, which is just as it should be. There is no silence or solitude when we join with others to be thankful, and that’s what the holiday is about for most of us—family, friends, connections, conversation, remembering, missing, laughter, and yes, tears. It’s a challenge to keep things simple while keeping up traditions, many of which came from a time when households had a staff in the kitchen.
As I scurry, however, I notice that I am present to silence and solitude. I feel a certain inner satisfaction in fluffing the pillows, clearing the piles of books from the coffee table, and chopping the vegetables. As far as simplicity goes, I gauge it by my level of stress, and modify accordingly. If I feel overwhelmed with all I have to do, I have to simplify—it’s as simple as that-- which might includes buying cookies instead of making them from scratch, being satisfied with tarnished silverware or (don’t tell mother) using plastic, and, one of the best options ever, asking for help.
Um, it just occurred to me that getting ready not to be alone is a rewarding way of sometimes being alone. Ponder that one.
I just got the call. They are on their way, arriving in an hour and a half if they experience good traffic karma. Then I can relax and we can all work on this simple 1000 piece puzzle. Maybe we should go out to eat at an automat, which was the scene of Rockwell’s Thanksgiving masterpiece.
As I scurry, however, I notice that I am present to silence and solitude. I feel a certain inner satisfaction in fluffing the pillows, clearing the piles of books from the coffee table, and chopping the vegetables. As far as simplicity goes, I gauge it by my level of stress, and modify accordingly. If I feel overwhelmed with all I have to do, I have to simplify—it’s as simple as that-- which might includes buying cookies instead of making them from scratch, being satisfied with tarnished silverware or (don’t tell mother) using plastic, and, one of the best options ever, asking for help.
Um, it just occurred to me that getting ready not to be alone is a rewarding way of sometimes being alone. Ponder that one.
I just got the call. They are on their way, arriving in an hour and a half if they experience good traffic karma. Then I can relax and we can all work on this simple 1000 piece puzzle. Maybe we should go out to eat at an automat, which was the scene of Rockwell’s Thanksgiving masterpiece.