To the Quiet Born
Sometimes it surprises me how easy this stay-at-home time has been for Keith and me. I realize that much in my past has contributed to the ease: over the years, I’ve learned to live self-suficiently in quiet.
I grew up an only girl in a family of brothers; they told me to stay away from their Boys Only treehouses and forts. If my neighborhood girl squad members weren’t around, I’d retreat to my room and spend happy hours with Sara Crewe or Betsy, Tacy, & Tib.
When I was a teen my parents bought a lake cabin. There my brothers and I spent hours swimming and “water skiing” on a plywood disc hooked up to our boat. Then, my older brothers got summer jobs and my younger one would go off on adventures with the little boys next door. There were no girls in the area my age, so I was on my own once more. The reading material then was Ivanhoe.In my working life I spent a lot of time traveling and staying in hotel rooms. Because I was often overseas, time differences kept me inside. Often I’d wake at 2:00 am local time rested and wishing I could start exploring the area. But most everything was closed and it wouldn’t have been safe for me to walk about anyway. So I stayed in and listened to CNN Headline News on TV. After cycling several times through whatever Christiane Amanpour or Elsa Klensch had to report, I’d turn off the one English program available and do a few exercises, or look out the window at the dark stillness of the Japanese countryside or the sparse boat traffic on the Seine. Then I’d start in on the new novel I had packed.
Sometimes as a traveler I had to stay inside during the daytime hours as well. One time there was a protest at the American Embassy in Athens and I was advised to stay in the hotel. At other times there were weather problems, such as a hurricane in Florida which kept me from venturing out, or a 5-day blizzard in Wisconsin which gave me the chance to try everything on the hotel room-service menu and finish embroidering a tablecloth.
Before Keith and I got together, I was restoring an old house in a small town. I moved there knowing no one. I just liked the place and figured I’d meet people along the way. However, when I arrived it was winter and no one was about. From my kitchen window I could see into my neighbor’s yard. Between the two houses a ball stuck out from the snowbank. It had the label “Wilson” imprinted on it.That reminded me of the Tom Hanks film Castaway, where he transformed a basketball, also featuring the label “Wilson,” into a companion. So like Hanks’s character I decided to talk with Wilson from time to time, between scraping off old wallpaper from the stairwell or scrubbing what I thought was gray linoleum in the kitchen, only to find it actually used to be white. Eventually, when the spring thaw came and melted the high mound of snow, my neighbor came over to introduce herself. I told her my last name and asked for hers. “Wilson,” she said.
Thank you for sharing this part of your life, Katharyn. I can so identify with your ease with solitude and stilness. For a variety of reasons, I too, feel a sense of comfort with settling into just myself. Your story inspires me perhaps to write mine some day — maybe for the blog, or maybe just for my kids. Thank you again for a delightful and touching read.
If you do write your story someday, I’d love to read it. It’d be interesting to learn your thoughts on solitude and stillness.
It was great reading your story Katharyn. As a child, I also was happy being alone in my room with a good book. I loved reading biographies of plucky young women. I also loved reading Nancy Drew mysteries. I’ve found being at home during the pandemic was quite comforting and felt safer. I also love to cook so it was fun getting back into that.
It’s good to hear from a fellow reader. Isn’t it great to have time to cook again? And, you’ve given me an idea for a new blog post!
Whenever I have my blood pressure taken, I have to consciously go to my happy place, which is stretched out on the sofa reading a really good book! I’ve been perfectly content to be home most of the time, and have been cooking healthy, fresh and delicious meals for the last few months, in contrast to the breads and desserts that I made at the beginning of the stay-at-home order! I really enjoyed this post, dear friend. 🏘
Thanks for the comment, Judy. It made me laugh to read about the evolution of your cooking, and I can picture you on the couch with book in hand!
So enjoyable, Katharyn. I, too, have coveted my alone time since the days you were most likely to find me up in a tree reading a book. It’s a delight to keep that young one in us always.
Kathryn, I’m wondering if you are still climbing trees? I’m enjoying picturing you reading there.