Day's for Work, the Night's the Time to Go Dancing
Sharon June 17th, 2009
Way out on the ocean
The big ships hunt for whales
The Japanese have caught so many
That now they hunt for snails
My fisherman’s not greedy
He seems content to live
With the sun and the sand
And a net full of fish when the tide turns
Pull on the ropes, Seine haul fisherman
Never catches more than he knows
He can sell in a day;
Pull on the ropes, Seine haul fisherman
Day’s for work. Night’s the time to go dancing – Judy Collins (and Asher’s current favorite song, which is why it won’t leave my head 
)
I must admit, it is a really long time since Eric and I have actually gone out dancing. Now I’ve never been one of those unusually graceful people, but I love to dance, and once upon a time, Eric and I used to go to the occasional club, and even ballroom dancing. I’m hoping we’ll get back to it one of these days.
Not, however, that we don’t have our pleasures. There is always so much work to do – on the farm, in front of our computers, with our kids, in our communities that it would be truly easy to allow the work to rise up and wash us away. Indeed, a lot of the work is enormously enjoyable – we like the garden, we like milking and cooking and sometimes even cleaning. We like the community work, I love writing and Eric loves teaching, and of course, homeschooling and caring for the boys is a job. And yet, in the aggregate, it adds up some days to feel like a lot of work.
A lot of days, after the boys are in bed, we crash on the couch, each of us reading our respective book. Occasionally, we watch a movie and do a little light evening work – Eric brushes the dog while I knit mittens, or I pluck the angora bunnies while he oils a tool or replaces a string on one of his instruments. Sometimes Eric, who is a gifted musician, plays for me, or we sit together and he plays and I sing. Often we just put our feet up, intertwined and do nothing, quietly together.
It would be easy to spend every evening that way, and it is always tempting, when we are invited out somewhere, to say no. Going out involves getting the kids in bed early, finding a sitter, getting ourselves cleaned up from the garden and decked out for public. It involves most of all finding the energy to get up and go somewhere at the end of the day, even if it is just to a friend’s house to play games, out to dinner, or to some social event at a local pub, much less dancing. Some days, getting out of the house to play seems like a good bit of work.
And yet, when I go, when I force myself to simply stop, to say that even though I haven’t dug out of the pile of writing I was supposed to do, even though the garden isn’t fully mulched, even though there’s work waiting, even though we’re tired. Part of it is that community stuff happens at the end of the day, when everyone is a little tired, but still pushes through to end the workday or week with laughter and a beer. But mostly, it is that time for play is part of the reality of a life filled with work. If you wait for the work to make the space for you to play, you’ll be waiting a long time. The only choice is simply to say “ok, I need to go do something fun, much as I like the work, it can’t be everything.” And so, we go.
One of my summer plans is that Eric and I actually do go dancing at least once. I know I won’t go out with friends as often as I’d like, I know I won’t have them over as often as I’d like. I know I won’t make it to every thing. But I am trying to remember that play is part of what makes work fun. The day is for work, and at least once in a while, the night’s the time to go dancing.
Sharon
- joy
- Comments(12)
Thank you for writing this, Sharon. I need this reminder as well.
Does the concept of Sabbath help out with this? I have trouble with both – finding time to just be quiet, finding time to play. I’m inclined to put “fun” on my “To Do” list and feeling guilty about not executing it in a timely manner…
What a beautiful piece to remind us that we need play and pleasure as well as all the work in our lives! Thanks, Sharon,
Peace to All
shamba
>some days to feel like a lot of work.
Understated, mmmmh?
Back when I did such things, I used to find that a late night at the opera or ballet never left me tired the next day, but exhilerated. Wish I could say that same about working late.
I keep reading about all the hours that people waste in things that won’t be around PO, and thinking, wow, I’ll have all that time, only to realize that if I add up the time I spend on that stuff now, I have about 72 extra hours per year. (Assming I’m still employed.) Not to be sneezed at, but hardly the life of easy I was expecting.
WE just missed the last performance this year of the Minnesota Orchestra which got rave reviews. We were just too tired, but now, in retrospect, should have made the effort to attend. The ‘todo’ list is just overwhelming! Have to remind ourselves that food for the soul has much enrichment value.
Actually got to go out to a “bar” with some girlfriends a couple weeks back….. First time ever. What a blast! Determined that I’ve gotta do that at least once a month from now on. It’s just too much fun to blow off ‘responsibilites’ for a night and go out and have a laugh and some gossip with the girls, away from kids, even away from the hubby. Hopefully TEOTWAWKI won’t mean the end of all bars, resteraunts & dance-halls. *wink*
BLINDING POLYPHEMUS. Our family took the big leap this past weekend and stuck a sharpened stick into the one-eyed monster. We let the deadline pass without converting our television to digital: it’s just a blank screen now. No more shadows flickering on the cave wall for us. Why? Potatos, couch or otherwise, are pretty low on the food chain. They tend to get et. So we struck down the Cyclops while we still had the will, and now we’re making a break for the bright light of reality. Mixed metaphor, I know….but the point still stands, I think.
Heard you on KERA radio, when you were in Dallas, then bought and read Depletion & Abundance. Thanks for the inspiration, Sharon. Enlarging the garden this summer, adding chickens next month, goats are next!
I’m a big fan of dance as a way to unwind and relax. There’s a bar that does a live salsa orchestra every Weds in the summer, and I swear it keeps me sane. My dance partners are kind, they dance with me even if I don’t get my hair done or my makeup on.
And it doesn’t matter how tired I am when I go, I always feel better for a couple hours of music and dance.
If you ever find yourself in Des Moines and needing some dance, you look me up and I’ll take you salsa dancing.
I don’t have a farm or children or livestock but I do have plants in containers, plants in raised beds, plants in the ground and plants in a community garden all of which take up a considerable portion of what’s left of my brain space. Add working full time at a job downtown and the stress load can get pretty high. Add me to the group of overachievers who don’t want to waste a single moment because there’s always so much to be done.
Thankfully, I’m getting smarter in my old age
While I love to dance (dang, it’s been years…), my kick-back time is Friday evenings heading over to Anchorage’s one and only brewery (Midnight Sun Brewing Company) where I can sample some of their beers, catch up with friends and relax. Sometimes I go out for supper afterwards and catch up with more friends. This one evening a week is enough to keep me sane. All of us who share a building (all five of us) are trying to find reasons to hang together – we’re having a barbecue on Sunday – and that helps, too.
Catching your breath every now and then is necessary. May we all remember to do so!
Kerri in AK
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