This year, Nov. 28 (aka Turkey Day) officially kicks off the holiday season (although some big-box retailers would likely demur, as they seem convinced that summer is, in fact, the peachiest time to start hawking Christmas trees. Can't quite wrap my head around that one.) It's a festive time during which we're gobbled headfirst into a snarling gridlock of gotta-dos until sometime around mid-January (read: after kids are back in school and we can finally put order to chaos). With Thanksgiving, et al., around the bend, I thought it only apropos to posit on some stuff I'm thankful for.
OK, y"all. I know what you're thinking: "Now THAT"S a novel topic, Alison. How very … creative." And, honestly, I concede your point: Ticking off a run-of-the-mill list of "What I'm Thankful For" is a mite predictable. But I don't think my list is so run-of-the-mill. (Or, at least, it isn't at first blush.)
Because I'm thankful for nothing.
Got your attention, didn't I? Trust me: It's nowhere near as bad as it sounds. Allow me to illuminate (before you smack me upside the head).
I, like most everyone roaming Planet Earth in the 21st century, lead a busy life, where all roads lead to everywhere. Things get noisy, they get messy, they get lost, they get found … and then go missing again, always when you're running late and a wayward shoe is a really big deal. What I'm trying to say - and something tells me most of you will get my drift - is that downtime is a rarity … and, by extension, a precious commodity.
Plus, I'm one of those people who just can't seem to sit still. I remain plagued by a persistent urge to be doing stuff. (Which, as it turns out, makes me uniquely qualified to be a single mom of four, as I'm basically operating nonstop.) You know those people who are all about "multitasking"? The folks who aren't satisfied with focusing on a single task, instead feverishly ping-ponging from one thing to the next to the next - blissfully unaware (or too busy to realize) that the human brain isn't designed to tackle multiple tasks in tandem and perform them worth a darn? What a bunch of lunatics!
Um, yeah, I am, in fact, one of those lunatics. Because, whether or not I care to admit it, I don't "do nothing" well.
So when I find myself with a serendipitous windfall of time on my hands, I get super stoked and begin envisioning all the mundane, undemanding ways to spend it. I could read a book, listen to music, soak in a bath, take a walk, jump online and Google myself … Oops, did I just admit that?
And it's on those rare days when I'm liberated from my laundry list that having a stretch of time scot-free of responsibility is pure delight. Where I can wile away the hours unencumbered by functions that require my time and attention. Where I'm not at my computer trying to bang out an utterly engrossing monthly column (hint-hint) while my twin teen sons bellow at each other because one apparently "killed" the other during an especially rousing round of Minecraft. Where I can, in rare instance, watch a mindless YouTube video featuring content that has absolutely nothing to do with, say, the fine art of using a Hoover SteamVac to extract an unusually stubborn cat vomit stain from white carpet.
Yes, my friends, those are the days for which I'm eternally thankful. But you know what? Even for all of their obligations, the other 363 aren't too shabby either.
