I wanna soak up the fun

lsproule@thereview.ca
I used to enjoy seeing that Vankleek Hill’s famous threesome known as Nettie, Georgina and Hazel out at events I was covering. These three sisters seemed to be everywhere I was: church events, festivals, historical outings, family reunions, fairs, seniors’ gatherings and more. I used to ask them where they were headed and where they had been  . . . in case I was missing something. Those were my early days as owner of this newspaper and I quickly learned who was in the know about what was happening in our community.
I still catch myself looking for these familiar faces and then thinking: they would have enjoyed this. But then I notice other familiar faces and realize that there are a lot of people who do make it a point to show up and soak up the fun, so to speak: whether it is music, or history tours, or a celebration of a business or a person.
I must be in a temporary low spot when it comes to getting out. And I risk a lot to state publicly that sometimes, I want to stay home. I can’t figure out if it is because I am too busy or if it is because everyone out there is too busy organizing events, but it seems to me that the event calendar is never empty these days. Most times, it boils down to making a choice of which event or meeting to attend and perhaps that has diminished the value of socializing, getting out there to meet people and soak up the fun. Thankfully, once I leave home and get wherever it is I am going, it is always worth it.
But these are busy times. If we think back 10 or 10 years, our region has stepped up in a big way when it comes to holding events both big and small.
And a lot of this is perspective. I have only to mention to those who don’t get out much that I am attending a hockey game or a figure skating show or a book launch and they ask if they can come, too. Maybe I should drive a bus wherever I go and pick up passengers along the way.
When I think of those who are too ill . . . whose bodies do not have the energy for even a simple errand up the street . . . I am instantly reminded that opportunities and invitations to be out there in the community should not be taken for granted.
There are, of course, proponents for a “Do Nothing Day”, when we give ourselves permission to do nothing for an hour, a morning or an entire day. We will be refreshed, apparently, after a few hours of . . . nothing.
But that sounds so lazy, doesn’t it? Kind of like recent hit: The Lazy Song, by Bruno Mars. The chorus is: “I don’t want to do anything.”
The very thought seems ridiculous. I say: one has to do something, even if one has set aside a day to do nothing.
Yet is is tempting to do nothing. We all know that time seems to pass deliciously slowly when one determines that nothing is on the agenda.
The truth is probably that we all need some of both: being out and about and staying in for some quiet time.
In the meantime, let’s all resist organizing a “Do Nothing” event. I know that I, for one, would feel obliged to attend.

Lydia Kennedy,
A traveler of Kilmar Road