"On rare occasions, and for no special reason he could think of, he imagined he was sitting by the fire in the study, in the company of a companionable wife. He would be reading, and she would be sitting across from him in a wing chair.
In this idyll, he could not see her face, but he knew it had a girlish sweetness, and she was always knitting. Knitting, he thought, was a comfort to the soul. It was regular. It was repetitious. And, in the end, it amounted to something.
In this dream, there was always a delectable surprise on the table next to his chair, and nearly always it was a piece of pie. In his bachelor's heart of hearts, he loved pie with an intensity that alarmed him. Yet, when he was offered seconds, he usually refused. "Wouldn't you like another piece of this nice coconut pie, Father?" he might be asked. "No, I don't believe I'd care for any more," he'd say. An outright lie!
In this imaginary fireside setting, he would not talk much, he thought. But now and then, he might speak of church matters, or read Blake or Wordsworth aloud, and try a sermon outline on his companion.
That would be a luxury far greater than any homemade sweet - to have someone listen to his outline and not encouragement or, even, for heaven's sake, disagree."
- At Home in Mitford, Chapter One. By Jan Karon
I love excitement. I love evenings spent "doing stuff", going out, playing games,shopping, watching something good. But I also love the idyllic setting of the excerpt, especially now that colder weather is upon us Add a freshly steeped pot of tea and a warm blanket thrown over my legs and I'd be set!
2 comments:
Very true! But sometimes in the busyness of life, we have to intentionally sit down, relax, and enjoy these "cold weather" comforts.
-Ange
I think it depends what stage of life you're in. Mom and Dad spend most evenings sitting by the woodstove and reading :)
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