Today is Black Friday and I am not one to shop on such a day. I am in my thirties and long lines/eager mobs of people scare me. Even though things feel pretty cordial here in Pennsylvania, I still don’t make it out to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets or King of Prussia Mall.
I shop on Amazon or at Target, like the rest of my generation (arguably, of course, I’m partly making a joke here). But I do take “Expect more, pay less” to a whole new level, I’m sure.
Today I had it on my mind to take care of errands and small jobs around the house. I have a garden project that needs my attention. I have laundry and cleaning and cooking to take care of for more Thanksgiving dinners this weekend.
Instead, I chose to putter.
Now, I should mention that I come from a long generational line of “Doers.” We wake up, we make lists, and we do stuff. Much stuff. Very meaningful stuff (insert sarcastic giggle).
But, not today. I made zero plans and allowed myself to walk around the house and take care of ridiculously infinitesimal nonsense.
Today I decided to do whatever struck my fancy. I committed to nothing, in search of peace, destined for an amazing afternoon.
- I vacuumed the shoe rack in the pantry
- I changed out a succulent in my little planter for the kitchen
- I watered a lot of plants (I’m not as cool as Hilton Carter yet, but I’m trying)
- I cleaned a baby toilet seat cover I hope to pass on for someone else’s use (your welcome, unknowing family member!) (Add to that: I probably didn’t clean it well enough the first time and will give it another go, but hey, I’m saving you about $40 with my Lysol can!)
- I made rice noodles and slurped them up ridiculously slowly, enjoying each savory bite because I didn’t want to rush the meal and found myself completely satisfied sitting in the kitchen staring at the kids’ Artwork Wall for well over thirty minutes
- I read 1/2 of Deep Trouble (about 50 pages?), a Goosebumps book my kids wanted to read (Spoiler Alert: it is about mermaids, which LM1 found VERY DISAPPOINTING)
- I folded paper boats with LM2 because he wanted us to have a “Creation Contest” and then see whose boat floated best (Spoiler Alert: the five-year-old won)
All of this is to say that puttering is peaceful. So long as I tell myself that some days are meant for simple nothingness, it’s all good. I don’t need to produce something every single day. Some days are just about. being.
What did you do today? Share the peace!
Want to make a paper boat? We learned how from this video! LM2 called it “Easy Schmeezy)
4 the Love of Peace 