A funny little phrase came to mind tonight (at 1:09 am as I sit in front of the computer writing this blog with a to do list one mile long, exactly. I measured.) I digress... "Burning the candle at both ends." Then a couple of others came to mind: "my plate is full", "burning the midnight oil" and "rat race". Like so many other people, I'm so busy with so many things that I need to accomplish. I feel like I am the epitome of the rat race and full plate and burning the candle at both ends. And being the infinite nerd that I am, I had to look those idioms up and explore their meanings and how they apply to me. I'm thinking, those were different times when these phrase came to be coined. And certainly, their meaning was far different than it would be now. And by all means, the people of those times wouldn't have a clue about the pressures that time constraints have on human beings now. Reeaallllly......
I like that their origins, at least the bilateral candle burning and the midnight oil reference come from earlier days of yore. It's interesting for me to think that there was enough going on in those days that one needed to be up past dark burning the midnight oil .... doing what exactly? I'm sure after working in the fields all day or keeping up with the multitude of daily chores in those days of yore, a little quiet time away from the 14 screaming kids was appreciated. But what exactly did they find so necessary to accomplish so late (or early for those non night folks) that they couldn't get done during the light of day? I couldn't really wrap my mind around it. Recently, during a storm, a transformer in our backyard burned out and left us without power at around 10:00pm. We were completely bored even with the candles burning and the flashlights. My phone was nearly out of battery and the tablet was dead and I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. We watched the transformer burn for awhile then went to bed. I can't imagine I would want to accomplish anything by candle light....
Now, I'm not saying that families in the 1830's weren't busy and that burning the midnight oil wasn't necessary. I'm certain there was a lot to do during the day. I can't imagine having to plan my families food consumption starting in early spring to make it through the winter. To know and plan for canning food in huge quantities, to store away potatoes and preserved meat, enough to sustain a winter! That makes me sweat just thinking about it. Then there was making of the clothes and hand washing of the clothes in the wash bin and hanging of the clothes out to dry.... How about breakfast at dawn before the menfolk went out to the fields. And not just a cup of yogurt and a slice of toast breakfast. We're talking homemade biscuits, fresh eggs from the chicken coop, ham and grits, churned butter and fresh milk from Bossy out back. The kind of breakfast that makes my arteries clog even with Crestor and Zetia on board. Boy, and after breakfast, there wasn't any putting those breakfast dishes in the dishwasher... it was bringing in the water from the pump house, rain or shine, snow and wind. Bringing it to boil on the stove.... about the time dishes were done, I'll bet it was freaking time to start lunch! Then, there was the garden to tend to, gotta have food to eat.... Cows to milk, eggs to collect, animals to feed.... And then when the crops were ready, they had to be harvested and stored, canned and cut.... Sent to town to be sold or traded. And somewhere in there, there had to be schooling for the children, at least some schooling, for a few...... and babies continued to get made, even after all that hard work...... HOLY CRAP! There was a lot to get done in a day back then!!
Okay, so I am completely worn out from even considering what a family of yore had to accomplish in a day's time and perhaps, if they weren't completely exhausted, walking dead, they would use the less useful night time to accomplish other things like reading or writing letters or mending socks and making quilts by candle light or the midnight oil. So, it's a bit naive to think that the time frame that those idioms originate aren't nearly as busy and stressful as our time. As a matter of fact, it's just plain egotistical to think that.
The truth is, the rat race and the mile long To Do List has been a part of the human condition for hundreds of years. Times have certainly changed. Unemployment is up, people struggle every day to make ends meet. We are living uncertain times not sure if there will be enough money to cover the cost of health insurance or the rising cost of gas. We're faced with shrinking education budgets for our children.... we're running our kids to activities every day, softball practice, gymnastics, working a full time job.... we're burning the midnight oil writing stupid blogs and getting caught up on Rachel Maddow. We're reading the Hunger Games Series and watching DVR'd runs of House and Grey's Anatomy because there "just aren't enough hours in the day."
And we complain. We complain about all that we have to get done and so little time we have to get it done. I feel a bit selfish and egotistical after thinking more deeply about the time frame that the origins of those phrases come from. I think it is an eye opening minute to think about the kind of rat race we run these days compared to rat race that humans have ran.
I think I'll appreciate Target and Price Chopper a little more and my electric washer and dryer along with the dish washer. I will stop and remember that the 45 minutes in my day to run by the store to pick up some socks and summer clothes for my kiddo is far better than sewing those clothes and cleaning them in a wash basin full of luke warm water I've carried in by hand. I'll appreciate that the calendar is full of meetings and appointments and the kiddo's activities but that I don't have to work my fingers to the bone just to make sure my family has food and stress out that the crops and garden succeed this season.
