Things to Do

Things to Do

By John W. Vander Velden

In a world that seems to tug us in every direction, we feel overwhelmed.  Time needed for preparations of the days ahead alludes us as the demands we already carry leave few moments.  How do we face tomorrow when today ends with so many unfinished tasks?  Technology promised to free, but also adds new demands.  We are the first generation with these countless accesses, social and informational links to a larger world and uncountable people.  The sheer novelty of those possibilities draw us to spend minutes and hours examining posts most of no value, in our busy world another demand for our time.

There are only so many minutes and most of us are busy, but we seldom take the time to rank the importance of the things that call us.  That should be our priority.  To understand what we must accomplish, what we wish to accomplish, and what we allow to get in the way.  Recreation is important, and time spent “unwinding” necessary.  But it is the balance that we should seek.

As a farmer the spring adds its list of “to do’s”, so I understand the frustration of unreachable goals.  For I like all others have the “basic” stuff to do, mow the grass, pay the bills, etc., etc., etc.  Often weather interferes with the work that demand immediacy, plowing, tilling, planting, and all the rest.  The numbers on the calendar hurry past do not wait and dawdling achieves nothing.  This is my forty-forth season and I know my stamina much less than years past, yet my task list seems to grow.

On yet another rainy day, I wonder how I might accomplish all that is required.  I do not find it easy to just tell myself that it will all work out.  For though my heart might carry that confidence, my head continues to search for solutions to weather created interference.  I know that there is much beyond my control, but… 

I rarely sit idly by when there is so much to do.  My world moves whether it rains or skies are blue.  In twenty-four hours the calendar flips another page and there are no “mulligans”.  So in my crazy world I must do my best to prepare, try to be efficient with the time I have been allotted, focus on the things that matter most, love, and family, work as hard as I am able, and understand if I truly give it my best then…well, It will be good enough.

So for me and most others whose lives seem to be within a maelstrom, time has come to catch our breath, focus and carry on.  Wish me luck, and I’ll pray for you too… 

(448 Words)                6-29-2015

 

A Change in June

A Change in June

By John W. Vander Velden

 

Danny dashes barefoot across the meadow with a fishing pole upon his shoulder and shouts, "No more homework, no more books, no more teacher's...” Miss Elderbrock had been nice, he couldn't say she ever gave a dirty look.  But it was June and Dan expected the fish were biting...

He holds the vinyl clad document, a symbol of the years of hard work.  Mark closes his eyes a moment as he draws a breath, the afternoon but a blur.   The ink signatures symbols of maturity, high school behind and the world at his feet.  Surely the diploma, a sign that he was a man though his parent's would disagree.  College just a few months away, his life was finally beginning.

Melody slides her fingers across the satin smooth white fabric of the gown that hung on her closet door.  When Alex first sees her in this dress she hopes it will take his breath away.  But now as she touches the silky fabric her mind swirls with a mix of emotions, anticipation, fear, and self-doubt.  Melody understood the long white dress a symbol of a sheer point, when everything in her life will change.  She hears the clock in her parent's parlor downstairs announce one day's end and another's beginning.  This would be the day, this June day, when her new life would begin.

As she smooth’s out a blouse in the nearly packed suitcase, Emily’s head seemed filled to bursting, images of all the events that had brought her to this day flashed in her mind, the years of classes at the university, the all night study sessions, and the job interviews.  The roar of the lawnmower spilling in through the window returns her to the here and now.  Emily's father always seemed to be extra busy on days like these.  Moving to the window, she looked out and down as he crossed the yard yet another time, pushing with all his might.  Catching a glimpse of her car that stood waiting and ready in the driveway made her pause.  She had seen the pride in her parent's eyes, but being the first of the family to earn a degree, she knew they could not understand what she faced...exactly.  Soon the car loaded to the hearth, would take her away, beginning the cross country journey to the west coast to a new home and career.

Life is about changes, those that come unexpected and others…  It seems that June is filled with thirty busy days that include moments when our lives move to new places and experiences.

(430 Words)                6-25-2015

OH MaY!

OH MaY!

By John W. Vander Velden

 

May can sneak up on a guy.  Here we are endlessly mowing our yards even before we have properly put the snow shovels away.   As a farmer, May has its own hectic significance.  You would think that as I enter my 46th season a rhythm would exist...well yes and no.  Yes, there is a constant sequence of tasks, but things never go as planned.

But everyone faces a bit of insanity as the year marches on, and May certainly is not exempt, for even as the days grow longer, our "to do" list swell.  Flower beds need preparation, the gutters must be cleaned, again.  We gather up hundreds of sticks and twigs that decorate the lawn. Winter's grime needs to be removed from our windows, the grass is always too tall, and the dust bunnies have been breeding like rabbits.

And if all the regular thing were not enough, there are those special events that seem to pop up.  The last 78 things to plan for a June wedding or completing the details of a grad party...been there, done that...hmmmph.  A guy can get tired just thinkin' 'bout it.

Summer is coming and there is just so much to do.  It seems too often we are just “chasing our tail”, as each day we race after unending obligations while reaching toward opportunities we watch slipping away.  Whoa…take a breath…and another.  The world roars on whether we have dandelions in our yard or not.  Time to balance things, or at least prioritize.  Attack the things that need to be done, but allow yourself a bit of time for the things you enjoy doing.  Take care of today…it has plenty…rather than focusing on tomorrow and the days after.  When you reach day’s end, look back at what you have accomplished, trying not to dwell on the unfinished. 

It’s May and though we find ourselves busy it offers the special days of full spring.  We cannot allow “things to be done” to overshadow the damp freshness of the world that surrounds us, or let the roar of the lawnmower mask the Robin’s call.  Find ourselves so focused on errant weeds that we cannot see the flowers that bloom in red, blue and yellow, or to permit the odor of cleaning solution to separate us from the fresh scent of the lilacs. Yes, there is so much to do, but it’s oh my…May, and May is a wonderful time!

(405 Words)