The Discovery of Time

One of the beautiful displays at McKennan Park.

As the pandemic continues around the world and in this country with ferocity we find ourselves, at least many of us, with time on our hands. That, indeed, is a new thing for some. I would say for myself that these days of semi-seclusion are a new thing for me to discovery.  While teaching and effectively having three jobs I would say I was run pretty ragged in retrospect. Things let up a little when I retired from teaching but much of that gained time was spent on the church in various capacities.  Retiring from the parish brought a little more freedom. At least, as I recall telling someone, things weren’t quite as frantic. Now when I really should be careful about going out at all it seems that there is quite of bit of time spent at home.

My friend brought me wheat grass! Yum!

What does one do with that time?  Admittedly at the end of the day I ask myself what did you accomplish and the answer is not a lot. Have cupboards or closets been cleaned? Not from the way the appear when the door or drawer is opened. Has a lot of time been spent reading and learning? Time has been spent reading but probably not a lot of learning has taken place. Has the exercising been done? Most days yes! 

One thing I’ve discovered is that this more relaxed pace gives me a peace of mind for which I longed. The time to savor, to explore, to try new things, to make things in the kitchen to be shared are all gifts. I don’t seem to find it necessary to check off all of things done at the end of the day, but there is certain satisfaction in realizing that things were accomplished at a much more leisurely pace than in days of yore.

The ability to start and finish something gives one a feeling of satisfaction. I find myself looking for things that I can do that can be completed. Clean drawers and closets would be such a satisfaction but that can always wait. This week after visiting a couple of my favorite parks I was curious to find out how many parks we actually have. The number is eighty. Wouldn’t that be fun to visit all the parks? So my new goal is set.

Parks are a safe place to visit. One doesn’t have to worry about social distancing, transfer of virus and all the rest. So the project was begun. I will have to admit that I didn’t know where the majority of the parks are. The city website has a handy list of all of them and clicking on the links brings up a map with the park pin-pointed. So far 36 parks have been visited. 

One interesting thing discovered today as I visited three parks in what might be called the high rent district, where the homes are all single dwelling and large enough in many cases to serve as hotels, is that they look much nicer than those in much less affluent districts. Some have tennis courts which are not found in other areas of the city. I had no idea that tennis was a sport restricted to the more well-off areas. The parks in certain neighborhoods just simply look better and are more appealing. Interesting? A subtle form of discrimination? My own imagination? It is something to ponder.

In between park visitations I did make my journeys to the Prairie Center each day.  Monday I had labs and a doctor’s visit which brought good news that my blood work is good. Most days everything including TUG the robot had everything in order. One day I was actually in and out in 45 minutes which is pretty speedy for an half-hour infusion. So all continues to go well for which I am really thankful. The only problem is some inflammation of the skin in the port access area.  We don’t know if it’s an allergic reaction to the cleaning solution used each day or if it could be the little piece of foam around the needle. Each “chemo week” seems to cause a slightly different reaction. A mystery that is yet to be solved.

Thanks for reading. Thank you for your prayers. Thanks for the emails and phone calls.  Thanks for being you.

From The New Yorker, Confirms my belief!