Written by Sanford Begley
I sit here still sated from a marvelous meal. We got a wild hair after doing laundry and went to our favorite Korean restaurant. It is a nice place, and the prices are reasonable. The food is marvelous, so marvelous in fact that I have blogged a review of this place elsewhere. On the way home we were both blissfully congratulating each other on our choices and wondering why it had been so long.
Why had it been so long? That’s an easy question to answer, convenience. Yung’s cafe is in Fairborn, we live south of Dayton, the trip is a half hour, maybe forty five minutes. And we never go anywhere in that area. Well almost never. So any trip there is a special trip just for the meal. It was definitely worth it. We decided we would have to do it again and not wait so long between visits. We would take the time.
There are other things we love and don’t do often enough. A walk through the woods with the dog is a joy to all three of us. We love walking, the dog loves new smells, and the WU enjoys taking pictures of the plants and bugs. Between weather, health, and life intruding we don’t do that nearly often enough. It costs nothing but a little time and it brings great joy to all of us. We must take the time.
Another of our favorite activities is driving, well, anywhere except heavy traffic. Driving gives us a time when we have no computers or household chores or any other activity to distract us. We chatter and plot books and just generally reconnect. We used to do this at least once a week. Now, not so much. We will start doing more of it because we need it. We have to take the time.
I have friends who are writers, from all levels, beginners to NYT best sellers. Some of them , mostly the lower level ones, value my opinion on their work. they want me to read it and give my thoughts to them. I think they over rate my ability, but I am flattered. I don’t do it enough. they are my friends and I want to help them if I can. Sometimes they send me works and i never get to them because I forget or am too busy or whatever. These are my friends, I should take the time.
My dog, like most dogs, adores her master. She loves me as only a dog can. I love her too. In her ideal of a perfect world we would eat rich meat and play until we are exhausted, them wake to play and eat more. I do play with her, just not as much as she would like, I feel guilty about that, especially when I’m feeling out of sorts for a few days and really slack off on her play time. It doesn’t take much to make her happy really. And I need to take the time.
These are just a handful of the things that make me happy and I don’t do enough of. I am sure each of you could come up with your own lists. Things you love and don’t do because you are busy or distracted or whatever else in life interferes. You too should…
Take the time.
Comments
6 responses to “Curmudgeon’s Corner: Take the Time”
What a nice posting.
thank you, It is true and something we don’t think about often enough
I need to take the time for all of these well — especially playing with my own dog — but not for driving. It’s very hard to enjoy driving in LA, no matter what you’re driving to… 🙁
We go out of the city for our drives. Possibly not an option in that part of CA
“…the trip is a half hour, maybe forty five minutes. And we never go anywhere in that area”
Sounds like the special occasions when we would go to Buffalo Jacks in Covington. At least 45 minutes to get there from our home, but worth it for the real buffalo steaks. [nearly 15 years since I last set foot in there and I still remember the place.]
Take the time to slow down, smell the roses and watch the sun move across the sky. No one knows the day or hour that this journey will end.
Exactly what I mean. None of us do this and we all should