No such thing as a boring day

At a Christmas party I attended, a good-natured fellow in a red velvet suit did a good job impersonating Santa Claus.

He went around the room drawing each woman on his lap then asking what she wanted for Christmas. Then it was my turn.

"And what do you want for Christmas, little girl?" he asked.

"A boring day!" I told him without hesitation. "And if you can't arrange to give me one boring day for Christmas, any time during the New Year will do. It would make a fine New Year's present, too."

Everyone laughed, thinking I was making jokes. But I was serious. That response came to me easily because during the rush of Christmas and the hectic schedule before the wedding, a boring day was the one thing I craved.

With double and triple commitments for every day during the month of December, I longed for a day that stretched beautifully before me without multiple things I had to do.

We just started the New Year but I still didn't get my wish for a boring day, and, judging by my calendar, there doesn't appear to be one on the horizon.

But when you think about it, there is no such thing as a boring day, at least not for me.

Life is a one big delicious smorgasbord of tempting offerings. And if you're like me and want to taste a little bit of everything, you will be fully satisfied. You will also be busy, very busy, but you won't be bored.

I love my grandkids with all my heart, and, like most grandparents, I think they are the niftiest kids in the world. But they have one habit that drives me nuts. If they are not on the go every second, they say, "I'm bored."

They have more gadgets than an electronics store and have enough musical instruments to have their own band. That alone should give them plenty to do. Plus, they are in competitive sports and are always on the go. How in the world can they be bored?

As far as my own life is concerned, my biggest problem is fitting everything in, not sitting idle while I wish I had something to do.

Truth be told, I'm what they call a "doer" and a joiner. I like to peruse the newspaper, looking for interesting things to do. There are always so many tempting activities and I like to try as many as I can.

Of course what that means is if I happen to have an empty day on the calendar, I fill it up with another activity. So I have no one to blame but myself for a schedule that is constantly on the go.

Most people select things from the smorgasbord of life with a lot more restraint that I do. They are careful not to over schedule.

Take our shell club members, for instance. That one club offers so many activities including a study group for those into the serious side of shells, field trips to wonderful beaches, craft classes to show us interesting ways to use the shells we collect, and jewelry making classes to add another dimension.

"With all that going on, who has time for anything else?" said one member as she explained why she didn't want to sign up for Zumba lessons with me.

I signed up for Zumba lessons, of course, and also ballroom dancing. Throw in exercise classes, two kayak clubs, a bike club, outings with friends and all the group activities we love to do and it all adds up to a full schedule.

That doesn't stop me from wanting to do more. For at least a year, I have been urging Dave to buy a boat. The best part of his house is the dock out back. Looking across the waterway, I watch the neighbors pulling their little boat in and out as they go fishing and boating.

Dave insisted we were too busy to add another thing to our schedule. "If we buy a boat, how will we have time to use it?" he questioned.

After I told him I wanted a boat since I was 16, he said, "Well, you might have one someday."

Someday came sooner than we expected when a nice couple put their well-kept boat up for sale. Although it's ten years old, it's in pristine condition with very low engine hours. So we bought it. Although we were both excited about the boat, it took two weeks for us to find time to use it. Blame it on the time constraints of Christmas and the wedding.

Now that Christmas and the wedding are over, Dave has a wish of his own: "I just want to sleep late and go nowhere," he says.

Don't believe it. He's natured the same way I am - if there is an empty day without commitments, he's ready to fill it, not with one activity, but with several.

But as my daughter says, "It's all good."

Life is good. Better than good. Each day is a gift we can use any way we please. With so many choices and chances, how in the world can life be boring?

So if I don't get the gift of a boring day, I'll probably just add it to the list of things for which I thank God.