Well here it is, the time of year when my life takes a dramatic turn for the slow. And yeah, it’s pretty darn nice.
For those of us who pretty much kill ourselves during the spring and summer months the transition takes a bit of getting used to…but once in the groove of doing everything at a much more reasonable pace, by golly watch me go. I mean slow. I mean go slow.
So how to spend all of this extra time? Well, of course there’s the fall cleaning.
Drawers, cabinets, closets all organized and pretty. Windows squeaky clean (and yes, there is no clean without the squeak.) Corners and cobwebs all taken care of, and just a general feeling of well being that accompanies mass cleansing.
I’m not a fan of clutter, never have been, so my soul is content and free of nagging details.
That said, I am totally convinced that my state of mind is reflected in my outward actions.
For instance my visit to Walmart yesterday (had to replenish all those cleaning products) took on an entire new slant.
The rushed, almost frantic summer shopping is a thing of the past, and I’ll be darned if the fellow shoppers didn’t notice my newfound sense of leisure.
Sure enough I was, once again, an official Wally World assistant. Funny how people can just sense when you’re not in a big fat hurry—or maybe it’s the lack of seeing the scowl of impatience from the summer months.
Plus, I’m so much more observant, which can go either way in these situations, because lots of times not noticing stuff often keeps me out of jail.
First, I was approached by an elderly woman in search of a birthday card for her one year-old great grandson. We giggled while hunting through all of the possibilities of cute cuddly choices.
Next came the poor hubby with pie tins on his list. He could only find the pre-crusted batch, and we shared a good-hearted laugh…at his expense of course.
Then, in my search for new socks—and with my newly rediscovered observations skills—I had the opportunity of following an 80-plus-year-old gentleman who was positively glued to the female undergarment aisle.
Oh my, perusing he was, big huge smile lighting up his entire face when he approached the grinning gals on the bra packages.
The “summer me” may have mentioned that nobody’s really comfortable or happy wearing these things and those smiles are as fake as can be. Admittedly, during the busy season this may have ticked me off, possibly even evoking a negative comment. But not yesterday!
I chuckled good naturedly, commented how darn pretty they were, and left it at that. Quite proud of myself I am for that one.
Especially when I met up again with him at the check out with his adorable little wife. I remained silent, but gave him a conspiratory wink. He grinned sheepishly and favored me with a little wave.
Ain’t it nice to be nice? Life has an entirely different flavor when a body is not in a hurry.
I will admit though, that the sisters get a little testy with me when I casually (but often) mention my daily routine consists of long walks in the woods, a bit of laundry, lunching with the gals, and catching up on uninterruped reading.
Inevitably I finish all conversations with, “Hey, I’ve got to be in work by MAY—so back off!”
When there’s not always something that needs to be done, it’s really okay to DO NOTHING!
That is, of course, until it’s time to hit the change jar…