This weekend I had the opportunity to be bored. Mike and the boys went to Iowa and our daughter is away at college so I was all alone from Friday to Sunday evening. I could have filled the entire time with dinner plans, movies and lunch dates but I chose to be bored. I ignored to-do lists and laundry. I didn’t even read which is my usual boredom buster. It was peaceful and refreshing. I had a friend once who told me the greatest gift you could gift your children was the gift of boredom.
Let me tell you, my parents kept us bored in spades. They didn’t plan every minute of every day or haul us here and there. I had friends who lived just 10 miles away that I didn’t see for an entire summer because it was too far to bike on dangerous Highway 61 and there was no way to get there. Phone calls were very limited on the party line and the Internet was something we never even dreamed of. I guess we were forced to use our imaginations.
I decided, in my boredom, to build an escape-proof home for my son’s hedgehog. She has been getting out for daily tours of his bedroom for about a week and I thought it best to curb her wandering ways before one of our four dogs figured out how to get past her prickly exterior and have a snack.
I don’t really like cages so I devised a two-room, openair home made from two clear Rubbermaid plastic tubs. It is similar to the home she came with only now it has higher sides that she can’t climb over. She would need to devise some kind of rope ladder to pull herself over the high walls and I’m guessing she won’t think that worthy of her time.
Because I was not rushed in this project, I found that a wood-burning tool melts plastic quite easily and saved myself cut fingers and time by burning circular holes to connect the two bins together. Viola! I strongly believe that boredom breeds creativity. I think I learned to knit when I was bored and I am sure I learned to cook during the summer when I had nothing else to do.
I did venture out for a couple of hours on Saturday, as I could not resist the Farmers Market and a few garage sales along my travel route. I had only one rule for the outing though— I could not buy anything that would require additional work when I got home. Therefore I passed on several wool sweaters I could have made into mittens and I did not buy the butternut squash that looked so delicious because I did not want to take the time to make soup. I didn’t even cook for myself this weekend. I ate leftovers and fruit smoothies.
I don’t consider this a wasted weekend but I think it was a good time to plug myself back in and recharge my batteries, to look around and appreciate all the gifts I have been given, especially the greatest gift of all—boredom. Thanks, mom and dad!
All of man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.
Blaise Pascal
Leave a Reply