A (Short, Short) Story on Wednesday . . .

 I’m going to stick with the random this week, it seems.  Today, with bread-baking (yes, I made the dough onMonday, but it was fermenting in the fridge since then, popped in the oven early this morning) and itinerary-confirming behind me, coffee with a friend later this morning, and a massage at the hands of my Registered Massage Therapist daughter this afternoon, I only have time to show-and-tell you a very short story of an early morning walk. . . an empty chair. . . a little boy who doesn’t sleep in . . . a neighbourhood park with a cool name. . . (the park has a sculpture of a man, reclining, and locals have long referred to it as Dude Chilling. . . Parks Board finally acquiesced)

 The story also includes dew. . . too much dew for a little guy to sit on if he wanted to keep his pants dry. . . which, apparently, he did. . .

 It’s clearly lived a life, this chair. Who dragged it out here? Do they hope it will be adopted? Did they sit on it for a while with a book? A guitar? Three and I considered all the possibilities. . .

 But then someone’s morning hunger grew fiercer, he remembered the promise of pancakes at a diner, and we left the chair to its own devices. . .

The pancakes, by the way, were very good. Having this guy to myself at 6:30 in the morning, sharing my bacon with him, and then my toast, while he mostly ignored the majority of his pancakes (on which he’d had me pour a very generous serving of syrup). . . .that was the treat, for me. I was the first to teach him how to hold a knife and fork to cut pancakes, a bonus!

That’s all for Wednesday morning, except that I want to say, after reading comments on Monday’spost, that I wish we weren’t so quick to call ourselves lazy. And to wonder what that’s about, and how we might reframe. . . Perhaps we could think of being fallow — apparent “laziness” as productive. . . .

Thoughts?

Oh, one more thing: If you’re intrigued by the image of an empty chair, especially when found in an unexpected place, you might check out the #emptychairsproject posts on Instagram.

10 Comments

  1. Pondside
    9 May 2018 / 5:37 pm

    I am always intrigued by an empty chair in a seemingly-random location!
    Those special times with the little ones are precious. The things I do with the two year old seem far in the past when I think of the 10 year old. Definitely an illustration for 'do it now'.

    • materfamilias
      10 May 2018 / 12:10 am

      So true, that very small gap between the Two and the Ten. And we knew this going in, of course, but couldn't manage to slow it down. . . so yes, I try to do my best to "do it now." Was tempted to grumble a bit Saturday morning (I like 6 a.m., but I like to be selfish about enjoying it), and then thought about how possible it was that the next time he and I might be together at 6 a.m., he could be four or six months older, and this version would be long gone. . .

  2. Anonymous
    10 May 2018 / 1:50 am

    One of life's precious moments, a morning walk in the park and breakfast with the cutest little guy in your life. To be so blessed! Having a good laugh here at Dude Chilling Park. Love the name. Is there any wonder why so many great comedians hailed from Canada. Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Martin Short, John Candy and the list goes… Thank you Mater for the reframe. I say amen to "fallow". Good advice and taken to heart. Reminds me of the last two line of a poem from William Henry Davies. "A poor life this is if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare".

    • Anonymous
      10 May 2018 / 7:30 pm

      Ahhhh…this time it's due to forgetfulness. 🙂 Claiming responsibility for the above comment. Thanks. Amelia

  3. LPC
    10 May 2018 / 3:32 pm

    I love that they formally changed the name of the park:).

    • materfamilias
      11 May 2018 / 3:41 am

      In fact, there was an earlier sign with the unofficial name (the Parks Board-approved name is Guelph Park — boring!), and when the Parks Board tried to have it removed, there was enough public protest, petitions signed, media attention, etc., that the compromise was to provide a new sign made to code, sporting the Parks Board logo. Officially, it's still on the books as Guelph Park, but I've never heard anyone refer to it as such. . .

  4. Eleonore
    10 May 2018 / 5:49 pm

    I am very impressed by the authorities accepting that name for the park. Cannot imagine that kind of thing happening here. Far too much red tape.
    Yes, the question of laziness. I try to remember that I am still on "historical vacation".

    • materfamilias
      11 May 2018 / 3:44 am

      See above, to LPC. . . as for red tape, the Parks Board keeps objecting to the free yoga classes held in the park . . . but the classes seem to continue. They're the least of the illegal activities that happen there, I suspect 😉 Substance (ab)use being much higher up the list. . . It's a happy place, though, which hosts a community garden, playground, impromptu picnics and music-making. Very chill . . . A good place to be un-lazy and on "historical vacation."

  5. Anonymous
    11 May 2018 / 6:30 am

    It seems that you've had the Dude Chilling Park for yourselves,you and your cute companion
    Dottoressa

  6. High Heels in the Wilderness
    11 May 2018 / 1:07 pm

    That is the best name for a park, ever. The chair, I guess, is for more chilling, when the dew dries.

Copyright

Unless otherwise stated, all words and photographs in this blog are my own. If you wish to use any of them, please give me credit for my work. And it should go without saying, but apparently needs to be said: Do not publish entire posts as your own. I will take the necessary action to stop such theft. Thanks.