I am babysitting my grandchildren today. All three of the kids were sleeping when I got here. Their dad suggested I might want to work with Ana to sort out the clothes she has outgrown. “If you get bored,” he said. Truthfully, I will get bored. It is hard to be in someone else’s house with nothing to do. When my mother moved to Minnesota to live with us after her throat surgery, she would always do my wash and organize the kids rooms while they were at school and I was at work. I appreciated her help, but she totally ruined the routine I had going with the kids’ chore plan. Later, when she moved into an apartment, we were never able to recapture the plan. I figured her helping out was her way of showing gratitude for us taking her in to live with us. I am sure that was part of her motivation, but I also think she needed to be busy. As a woman in my 60’s, I realize, too, that keeping the body moving is important.
When Bernie and I travel and we stay in other people’s homes, it is hard not to have things to do. “Just relax. You are supposed to be on vacation,” a host might say. But sitting around isn’t all that much fun. Even if it is on a beach and the ocean waves are rolling in over my feet. A good book, yes. But even with that, I get numbut if I sit around too long.