The View from Wednesday: Doing Nothing Is Something.
At work today, I had to drive my boss's big SUV to a paper vendor on the other side of town, in the middle of nowhere. I have to drive Boss Man's vehicle occasionally, and it was so nerve-racking to me at first (way too reminiscent of driving that behemoth moving van). It kinda still is, especially when I'm going somewhere I've never been before, but I'm getting better. You just can't drive on auto-pilot, like you can in your own car; you have to be constantly paying attention.
Anyway, I reached the paper manufacturer, only to be told that my order wouldn't be ready for another 25 minutes -- definitely not long enough for me to drive back to work, so I just had to wait. Which I didn't mind. My weekdays are always so busy, so programmed, that it felt pretty good to have 25 minutes with nothing to do on a Wednesday afternoon. I stretched out in the backseat of Boss Man's car and just stared at the tree branches. It was a good reminder of why resting on Shabbat is so important in Judaism, and of one of my favorite poems.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
My view out the car window
P.S. Guess who was outside at 10:30 last night, trying to coax a feral cat to her? It was the same black-and-white cat, practically still a kitten, that I last saw a few months ago, and its behavior has already gotten more feral since then. I already have two cats hissing at each other, but if it would come closer, I would take it in, anyway, just to get it out of the cold.
Anyway, I reached the paper manufacturer, only to be told that my order wouldn't be ready for another 25 minutes -- definitely not long enough for me to drive back to work, so I just had to wait. Which I didn't mind. My weekdays are always so busy, so programmed, that it felt pretty good to have 25 minutes with nothing to do on a Wednesday afternoon. I stretched out in the backseat of Boss Man's car and just stared at the tree branches. It was a good reminder of why resting on Shabbat is so important in Judaism, and of one of my favorite poems.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
My view out the car window
P.S. Guess who was outside at 10:30 last night, trying to coax a feral cat to her? It was the same black-and-white cat, practically still a kitten, that I last saw a few months ago, and its behavior has already gotten more feral since then. I already have two cats hissing at each other, but if it would come closer, I would take it in, anyway, just to get it out of the cold.