Bespoke

Last September I was determined to watch the Harvest Moon rise.  The year’s biggest and brightest, it’s ascension over the horizon is a spectacle not to be missed.  I researched the exact time of its scheduled appearance and scouted my seat in the open field at a nearby high school.  In spite of the fact that my home is literally a one minute drive to this location, I missed the moment entirely.  I had no idea that the window of time for this monumental event is so tight. 

Anymore it seems like time “vaporizes”, an apropos descriptor supplied by a friend observing how her life has changed in the year she’s been back in the saddle of full-time  employment.  When the work day is over it’s time to conduct business running a household, leaving room for little else if you’re interested in sleeping, that is. So how is it possible to fit the fun in your life when it feels like you’re moving from one job to the next?

I once worked for a man who informed my teammates and I that we could attend a social event if all of our work was done.  No lie.  We laughed.  Who is he kidding?  All of the work is never done.  If we waited for that day to come, we’d never enjoy the perks of our jobs.  And that’s the truth outside the workplace as well.  With most household chores, the best you can do is break even, there is no getting ahead.  There will always be more laundry, dishes, food to prepare, bills to pay, clutter to pick up, teenagers to drive around.  If you wait until everything is done, so to speak, you’ll never have a moment to yourself.

Time will not tap you on the shoulder, saying “I’m here, take me.”  You need to steal it.  I mean it.  Steal time precisely when the urge hits you. I have set an alarm clock on vacation to catch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.  I have stopped what I’m doing in the middle of a workday to go for a run on a 50 degree day in January. I have skipped out on a mess at the dinner table in favor of nestling in a patio chair on an early summer evening to find out whether it’s the stars or the fireflies who are the first to twinkle in the gloaming.

These made to order moments in life are all over the place, every day, but the thing is they don’t wait for us. If we welter in the business of living, we’ll inevitably miss the pleasure of life.

I decided to give my Harvest Moon rise another shot, knowing that it technically was not a full moon the second evening, but close enough.  I made it to my spot in time but moonrise preceded sunset and the lingering daylight dulled what I hoped would be a spectacular glow. This stunning three minute video is what I had imagined my experience in the field could be, and it’s also why there’s no shame in stealing time. http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/01/full-moon-silhouettes/272673/