Ah, those fierce formidable women of yesteryear. Is there anything they couldn’t harness?
“Whatever you do, do not waste time, my mother once told me.” I really have no idea how it came up -- in fact I think the statement came out of nowhere. I have a vague memory that I was a young adult, but still living at home. Possibly that awkward period when you are in college but still coming home for summer vacation. But this statement, which seemingly had no justification to anyone other than my mother, has haunted me for my whole adult life. There is nothing I hate more than wasted time.
And my late mother-in-law, Maria? Well, she simply took the idea of harnessing time and turned it into an art form. Where to begin...
Her day began with boiling water to brew her pot of tea. In the meantime, she unloaded the dishwasher. Next she poured herself her first cup of tea and went into her study to quietly sit in her rocking chair. This was a time for meditation or reading spiritual material.
When the rest of the house started rising, she would go into her bedroom to dress and put up her hair (in an updo that I could not begin to describe -- neither bun nor twist -- it was simply Maria). And the sterling silver hair implement that held it in place? All I can say is that it looked like something that only the Art Nouveau period could have come up with.
Breakfast was a time to talk about dreams – Maria had studied dream interpretation and loved to discuss them with each person at the table. Afterwards, when dishes were done, it was time for a quick phone call and to head into town for errands. Unless it was Sunday, in which case, Maria drove to Quaker Meeting.
And the errands…suffice it to say that no one grocery store could withstand the Maria list. There had to be many. One store was for the meat, and another was for the produce. Tea and snacks from yet another. Oddly, Costco was the one store that Maria shopped at regularly. Needless to say, her cart looked like no one else’s.
After errands, it was time for lunch and rest. Maria was religious about rest. She would lie on the couch, by the window where the sun came in, and read her mail and the newspapers. At 4 PM there was tea. Then the preparations for dinner began around 5 PM, at which time she would listen to the news on NPR.
Where is this formidable woman of yesteryear when we need her? I can’t help thinking that not much would have changed in Maria’s daily schedule if she were in quarantine. A pandemic? What’s that? Oh, simply more time to read the newspaper and debate the lunacy going on in the world.
How would this day be different from any other?