I'M HIGH MAINTENANCE
By Elizabeth W. Bennefeld
A summer or two ago, my husband and I took down the
evergreen shrubs that had stood in front of our house for
over twenty years. Nothing was left but short stumps and
bare, packed soil. We weren't able to agree on what should
replace the shrubs, and so we put off the decision and did
nothing. After the unusually heavy spring rains, this year,
plants started to emerge from the formerly bare ground, and
we waited to see what they would be. Finally, one day, we
walked out the front door to find a carpet of wild violets
in bloom from one end of the house to the other. It was a
glorious sight!
When I told of the experience, my friend George volunteered
the information that where he is from, farming is different
from the way it is in North Dakota, in that folks plant many
types of roots and seeds all together, rather than
separating the different kinds into fields or plots. The
ground is dry and the growing season is variable, so produce
isn't all ready for harvesting at once. And so, when heading
out to find something to add to the evening meal, someone
might say, "Let's go and see what God has given us," rather
than "I'm going to get some squash from the garden."
It's really easy to get caught up in trying to preplan for
every aspect and stage of life, or to worry when we don't.
We can buy insurance to cover the loss if it rains on our
outdoor wedding or the annual bazaar. There is insurance for
long term care, if we live so long, and prepaid funeral and
burial insurance if we don't. The time to start setting
aside funds for the children's college expenses is when they
are born, and the retirement account already should be
generously endowed by age forty, if we plan to retire by age
sixty-six. The lawn should be landscaped, and the strips of
garden must be planned out and planted for minimum
maintenance to fit the hectic pace of today's lifestyle.
I've decided that I am not a "low maintenance" person. That
is, I cannot afford to cut back on my personal maintenance
in order to dedicate more time to planning the perfect
garden or shopping for the ideal outfits for various social
occasions. Even reading the "best sellers" that people
around me are reading, so that I can join in the
discussions, comes with too high a price tag for upkeep,
when what I really want to be doing is reading old history
books or rereading the science fiction novels that are
already on our bookshelves. I want--I need time to pet the
puppies, take a walk with my husband, play the piano ... or
just sit in the back yard for hours on end and think, if I
want to. For me, this isn't the stuff of which two-week
vacations are made. This is the essence of each day.
Maybe cutting down on the external maintenance to devote
more time to the personal means taking risks, but the joy of
the unexpected, like that riot of wild flowers springing up
from ground that was too long barren, will have more room to
break through to surprise and inspire me.
Bio: When Elizabeth W. Bennefeld and her husband Al
are not storm spotting with other members of the Red
River Radio Amateurs, Elizabeth works as a freelance
writer and editor; Al is a computer technician turned
programmer. Their household in Fargo, North
Dakota, includes two cocker spaniels, Ladd and
Rascal, a ham shack, and a basement full of books.
Elizabeth's poetry and prose have appeared in literary
and other publications since the late 1960s.
E-mail Elizabeth at wordquilts@att.net
