Here's a New One

“When from our better selves we have too long
Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop,
Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired,
How gracious, how benign, is solitude.”

Okay, I lied.  There's nothing new under the sun, or on this blog.  So it's an old one- a bit from Wordsworth that a kindly NYT reader included in their response to this essay.  And it brings up my favorite life theme: Hey hurrying world, step off so I can putter around at home, in my slippers and/or muck boots, working on curious little projects as though I was an adult being home-schooled. 

Point being, I am drooping.  I have been parted from my better self. 

But since the hurrying world is not going to get less hurried, and I need to regain backbone, vim, and vigor, I guess I will need to find a way to spiff up my soul.  And so I will resolve to embrace the alarm set for Crazy O'Clock in the Morning, when I can soldier through a more regimented to-do list in gracious solitude. 

Finally, a question for future self: are you feeling better?  Less droopy?  I hope so.  I thought maybe if we made the move, you would be better able to pull our shit together.  Also, remember when (and if) you are scraping and painting 246, that back in January you were daydreaming about doing just that as a vacation activity.  That you looked on it as a blessed leisure activity.

So quit whining.