ROW80

RoW check-in First World Musings

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Fair warning–this first paragraph is a rant! My throat is sore, my nose is running, and I am feeling extremely sorry for myself. I’ve been fighting this dreck that has hit most of my staff.  Sadly, although I have been begging them to stay home when they are sick, there is some weird corporate culture here that it is better to come in when they are coughing and sneezing on everyone.  What is up with that?  I sometimes have to go in because I used a lot of my sick days on fun things like surgeries and days in Intensive Care, but these staff of mine have more than two or three months worth of sick leave.  Doesn’t anyone know how fast sickness skates through cube farms?  STAY HOME!

Okay, you’re safe now, gentle reader. I’ve also neglected my writing the past couple of days, although I am writing this as part of a group sprint, so thank you, Eden, again. I have also been planning, drawing, thinking about the world and how things like getting water and food work in that society.  I am very bad about posting check-ins–feeling meh, and not like I have anything interesting to say.

All household members have been madly packing the past several days–ever since the weekend, and it is coming home to all of us 1) we hate packing 2) we keep too much stuff 3) we are actually forcing ourselves to do it right this time, no matter how horrible it is to do so.  We bought more trash cans, and recycling bins, and have filled up donation bins nearby with clothing and other usable items. It makes me feel better, but I am swearing to live less cluttered in the future.

I have also been on the other end of the first world spectrum, needing help to clothe and feed my family, so I am happy to pay it forward.  It is part of what I have taught my kids as well, and I am pleased to see how much they are donating as well.

First world problems, I know. I thought the other day of how precious paper was when it first began to replace vellum and parchment, and how amazed (and appalled) 16th century people would have been at the hordes of paper that invade our homes.  It is a different perspective on all the stuff we have, to think about the people who had one good dress and one work dress for most of their lives, and who wrote letters on every available space, since paper was so dear.

I’ve been thinking about the way that I take so many things for granted–the light that allows me to type this at night, the electricity that powers my laptop, the gas that heated my water for tea, the water that comes from the tap.  I planned a series of blog posts about that awhile back, but it slipped off my radar.  I’m beginning to think about it again.

I want to do better about check-ins, too.  I feel very cut off when I don’t check-in and read and comment on other RoWers’ posts, so I just need to schedule it and do it, right?

Please go check out how all the other RoWers are doing here.

smaller EM

Published by Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

I am the youngest of four children, raised in the old-fashioned Irish-American way. I suspect my mother encouraged me to write from an early age to keep me out of her hair, although she may have regretted the decision when my teachers began to call about the controversial stories I was writing. Thus I began my career of butting heads with the good sisters at my Catholic elementary school, and ended it by leaving high school for college with no diploma. I wear my high-school dropout badge rebelliously and proudly. In college, I became fascinated with the Middle Ages, which was described as a “starry night” by one of my professors. So began a trek through languages and legends that informs my narrative non-fiction and historical fiction, as well as my blogs. I love feedback and enjoy discussing ideas. I have an accountability blog for the Round of Words in Eighty Days entitled Leavekeeping; I write a blog on literary history, intellectual history, and the history of words entitled Lapidary Prose. I'm on Twitter and Facebook; my email is lapidaryprose@gmail.com.

6 thoughts on “RoW check-in First World Musings”

  2. Donating for the future… I hear you about our “first world problems”; I used to save all the half-pages from notebooks (my grandmother would turn envelopes side out and reuse them for letters). We not only use too much these days, we have gotten used to expecting to be able to use too much too. And we almost (as a society) save things; those that do are given derogatory labels like hoarder, miser, penny-pincher. We’re encouraged to y and spend more…

    Oops, no political rants needed here.

    Just get better. If you want a bit of break to scribble today, feel free tag me too. I’m out and about with Marcus, so may or may not answer right away, but I’ll do my best.

    1. I can completely relate to your “rant,” Eden. My parents grew up in the Depression, and passed along that mindset to all of us. Thanks for the getting well wishes–my problems now are dust and pollen!

  3. Why do people come to work sick? I just don’t get it. Truly is a very thoughtless thing to do. And as you know, I feel your pain girl. Moving…ack! Here is my motto: If you don’t use it within the last 6 months, pitch it. Yep, that’s right. Believe me, it works. Now is the time to declutter your life and rid yourself of the unnecessary things. You will feel so much better when you move. The surprising thing is you won’t miss the stuff. I mean, how can you miss something you haven’t seen or used? Let it go! You can do this. And once you’re moved, you’ll feel so much better for it. 🙂

Comments are closed.