It used to be that I could pack ten big ticket items into a day and not think twice about it. Put in a day of work, tend to kids' issues, take them to activities, cook their meals, plan their vacations, put up the tree, warp a few gifts, attend a kid performance -- you get the picture. These days, if I have one event that is out of the ordinary, I consider myself mightily booked and busy. True, I don't have many free hours. I joked to my daughter recently that the mornings are for doctors' appointments and the afternoons are for the kids, and though that may be a bit of an exaggeration, it really is true that mornings are for chores and the occasional walk with Ed (and for doctors appointments!), and afternoons are indeed for the kids. My downtime typically is limited to the hour or two after I put away the last dinner dish.
Occasionally though, something unusual crops up and any such event becomes central to the rest of the day just because it takes me out of the repetitious routines (chores and docs plus kids) and puts me in the thick of something else. Today, that event is Snowdrop's play.
The girl first signed up with the Young Shakespeare Players (a local theater group for young people) this summer, and like her mom and her aunt before her, she was smitten with the whole experience. Yes, there's a play that they put on -- typically an unedited, unabridged Shakespeare play -- but, too, the whole set up is very agreeable to a preteen kid who craves independence. They have a lot of it during rehearsals (meaning there's a lot of hanging out with other like-minded kids, without an adult always telling them what to do).
This fall, the group is putting on a non-Shakespeare play. It's G.B. Shaw's Great Catherine, Whom Glory Still Adores and if you have never heard of it, well neither had I before she signed up for it. The story is set in 18th century Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great. Snowdrop plays Claire, the fiancee of the visiting Captain Edstaston from England. Uninhibited Catherine, with her drunk former lover, Potiemkin and prim Edstaston with his equally English-prim Claire. You see the potential for comedy. Romance, intrigue, mockery -- it's all there.
The performance is tonight (the first of four for Snowdrop) and I am the only family member attending, so it's a big deal. (The others will see her tomorrow.) And as I wrote above, that one event sets the tone for the day for me.
Of course, the day begins with the routines that are just fine and lovely (and cold once again!), but they are predictable. You know them well:
(granola today...)
The rest of the morning? Productive! Holiday stuff, for sure, by the Christmas tree...
(hello, little ones...)
(don't you just love a morning sunshine on the Christmas tree?)
(Friendly, surveys Sparrow's construction project critically..)
... but also I snuck in some weight lifting. Such variety in my attempt to keep active in the winter season (and I don't care what the calendar says -- it's winter!): last year it was ballet. This year? I'm going for weights. An article in the NYTimes today reminded me of this chilling statistic: average keel over age (in the US right now) is 76. That's not the chilling part. We all die. One or two years this way or that way -- eh, small potatoes. The more chilling part was that most people develop serious age related health conditions soon after reaching 65 and it's downhill all the way after that. Some of this is luck, some of it is genes, much of it is also lifestyle. Up the grains, cut the booze, sleep well, move more. It's a familiar tune. I just need to turn up the volume a little come winter. So, weights, here we come. They've been collecting dust in the basement for too long.
And here's something else I got from the NYTimes -- I'll share this story here. It's not one I would normally regard as a good read: all about a rich couple, with a stunningly beautiful house in the Hamptons. And yet, as I read along and admired their home, I was completely enchanted by all of it. They're artists and they built a successful jewelry business -- I dont really know how or why they got lucky with it. They started off as California Beatniks, she a drop out from high school, he enchanted with her, she with him. Plenty of love. Shared interests. (His name, David Yurman, appears to be totally recognizable among jewelry wearing people, but of course, here at the farmette, I never heard of him or his famous bracelets that lifted him to great fame.) When you read the story, you feel happy for their success. And of course, the notable fact is that they are both 82. And happy. A double yay for them!
In the afternoon I pick up the kids, bring them to the farmhouse...
(wild but sweet!)
(ditto)
... and basically stuff food into them, especially the girl, who, to my knowledge, will not be eating dinner tonight as they make her show up early and the play ends late.
I then drop her off at the theater, him off with his dad, and I have this hour to kill. No point in going home. How about a relaxing moment or two at Barriques? It's been a while since I sat quietly, alone, in a cafe-bar in the evening. Sort of like an Edward Hopper painting, only I can't help but have a smile on my face as I look around me. I imagine most people at the tables around me are content. They look content. It's warm, cozy, a few are talking, some are with their laptops, I'm with my book.
And then it's time to see the show. She is fabulous, of course. Great expression, perfect delivery.
Am I biased? Oh, I don't know...
Snowdrop seems to take to the stage. For a girl with a normally subdued voice, she projects well, stays in character, and you can tell she enjoys the nuance of her lines. And the play is funny! A wonderful evening.
It's late before I get home, reheat my supper. No matter! We have another episode of Clarkson to watch. Feet up, big cup of soup before me, with freshly grated cheese on top, of course. Exhale, with Ed, in total contentedness.
