By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, InDepthNH.org
Today I muse joyfully on taking hot showers, taking long walks, making meatballs, creating crafts and lounging on pillows. It’s been a week and the aforementioned activities are ones I find not only vital, but necessary in a time of turmoil.
My friend, Tory, had an aunt who suggested when anything is entirely stressful, when the shit hits the fan and all seems to be going to hell in a hand basket: take a shower. Take a hot shower, get naked, let the water run over your skin. Inevitably, life apres the steam, the water is much better, lighter, easier. Certainly the storm may still be raging but you, my friend, are not.
Long walks help clear my head. I’m not a fan of treadmills, I like to, as my niece Amie, calls it, “take a fresh air bath.” This does not involve actual water but involves simply putting on shoes and getting outside under the sky. As for me? It does not matter the weather, I have things called coats, socks, mittens, gloves. I’ve invested for my walks and one of my favorite things to do during a sojourn is to stop and touch a tree. Yes, I feel the bark, I touch some lovely large oak or maple and remark, “Well, YOU made it through quite a lot, I suspect I can, too.”
A good, homemade meatball can solve the world’s problems in a heartbeat. And when I make them, I make lots and lots – to share, to eat, to freeze, to love. I toss hamburger, salt, pepper, eggs, parmesan cheese, oregano, and breadcrumbs into a bowl, take off my rings and mix with my hands. The touch of raw eggs, hamburger and the plethora of ingredients allows me to forget what had me so stressed. Politics? Family? A new puppy? All are gone when I create orbs of fantastical taste, I toss them into tomato sauce, I languish in the thought of pasta and bread and delight in the smells, the taste, the warmth. What’s going on again? Here, have a meatball.
My friend, Judy, recently remarked, “When our country has gone mad…get crafty…” I love this. She then presented a delightful craft made of burlap, paint, tiny clothespins. Those tiny clothespins alone decreased my blood pressure in a heartbeat. They are so cute! So tiny! And yet, functional. If there is a way I can combine tiny clothespins and meatballs, I will open a spa. Perhaps, dear musers, that is a possibility.
Finally, if you have not purchased a new pillow in decades, now, dear friends, is the time. I, personally, just sewed a couple (I am crafty, you know) and they delight. It’s a good time to delight in placing your head down on something clean, fresh, new. January is the best time to invest in linens, bed clothes, towels. Why not a new pillow? A pillow I invested in travels with me wherever I go; I cannot say that about my children, my husband, my pets. But a good pillow? Best friends forEVAH!
So, there dear musers, it’s been a week. Take a shower, go for a walk, make some meatballs, craft and then, lay your weary head on a new pillow. All will be well, dear musers, all will be well.
Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.