I’m not much of a sitter.
No, I don’t mean a pet-sitter, house-sitter or baby-sitter. I can handle all those quite well, thank you.
What I’m talking about is your common, everyday sitter. Not watching pets or houses or babies. Just sitting and watching the world go by.
The trouble is, it’s hard for me to just watch the world go by. Because I always feel I need to keep up with the world – not let it pass. There is always something to do, which makes it impossible to do nothing.
Part of it is heredity. I come from a long line of doers as the youngest of five. There was always activity in and around our house when I was growing up. My oldest brother, Warren, who was 20 years older than I, had his own hobby room in the basement. There he had a ceiling punching bag and resistance ropes and weights for body-building; a cabinet and worktable for his fishing lures and ties, fly rods and reels and other equipment; and lots of woodworking tools. He also had a wall in the basement of several 50-gallon tanks for his tropical fish hobby. Between the laundry, makeshift half-bath and my brother’s hobby room was Dad’s large workroom, with an area for wood pieces for projects, a large table saw and workbench in front of the big, black oil tank.
Upstairs in his bedroom, Warren had a huge stereo system and record collection, as well as an extensive stamp collection. Everything was meticulously maintained and organized.
Our garage was built with lots of storage for all sorts of recreation equipment – baseball bats, mitts and balls, footballs, basketballs, golf clubs, volleyball, croquet set, badminton set, roller skates, ice skates, tennis rackets, boxing gloves. And always the latest amusement – hula hoops, yo-yos and even a pogo stick. All were accumulations over several decades for five kids They were mostly for the guys in the family, my three older brothers and my dad—but also for me, the tomboy. My sister, who was 11 years older, was mostly concerned with her friends and making sure her pesky little sister didn’t get into her diary and other personal effects.
There was always music around the house, live and otherwise. We had a baby grand piano in the living room and an upright in the basement, a drum set, clarinets, saxophones, oboe, guitar and, somewhere in the attic, an old ukulele. Classical, jazz and on rare occasions my Disney favorites album would play on my brother’s stereo system throughout the house.
Besides cooking and housekeeping, Mom loved handwork – knitting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery – even fur remodeling – and she loved gardening. Her hands were so often in material, dish water or dirt.
It was a childhood ripe for doers, not so much sitters. Of course, there is so much mandatory sitting we must do throughout our lives. School, church, jobs. And don’t forget those favorite TV shows. But for virtually my whole life, if I had the option to be doing something or just sitting, I would always opt for the doing.
I figured there would be plenty of time to set down for long spells when I’m older.
Then I started realizing that maybe now is the time to start practicing the art of fruitful sitting.
And there is no place better to do that than here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where we’ve been spending a good deal of the early spring. Tom and I have found some wonderful spots for just sitting and watching a world of nature go by. Nearby is a little block-square park called Galatea Park, a beautiful little piece of tropical paradise with a couple of huge fountains and a lily pad-filled pond. It has the ambience of an Italian garden. Benches near the pond and a seating rim around the large fountains encourage dalliers, as do a usually present duck family, blue jays, frogs, turtles and parades of geckos.
Another good spot for sitters is a half-block away, where a series of high-rise retirement homes overlook Boca Ciega Bay. We saunter over there often to enjoy the view of the bay from the pier – and some relief from heat and humidity -- and the big pond behind the homes where water birds frolic, providing lots of amusement.
I guess sitting does have its merits. I can start practicing now. So, I’ll be really good at it when the time comes to use it.