They say that Adam was lonely in the garden and needed Eve to be a help meet for him.
Well this past week Julia and the Boys have been in
Idaho having their 1940’s knee boarding vacation and as Julia put it that means that I have been left “a lone man in the Garden of Eden”.
Let’s deconstruct:
“1940’s knee boarding vacation”: the original idea of this vacation was that it was going to be a rustic vacation in like in the 1940’s (see e.g. “Blueberries for Sal”)
No CD players, no Ipods, no cell phones, no computers, no radio, no tv and NO MOVIES. Just books, games, and puzzles. EXCEPT that they decided they would also take the boat. Well, the reports I am hearing are that they are out on the water all day every day taking turns knee boarding, wakeboarding, waterskiing etc. But when they go home, NO ELECTRONICS. Hence, the 1940’s knee boarding vacation.
Garden of Eden: That would be Bellingham. It used to be that when Julia left to visit family, I would eat many if not most of my meals in restaurants. It has not been a whole week, and I have eaten only one meal at a restaurant -- and that was mostly for convenience. Instead, I have been living off homemade bread and produce from our garden. For example I invented a new dish I call pink patriotic potato salad. We grew some BLUE potatoes this year and yes they are really blue. When combined with white potatoes and beets (from the garden) they make a patriotic combination. Except that when you add the mayo (I have now learned how to make homemade mayonnaise) everything turns pink. I made a large batch for our BBQ party last week and it was DELICIOUS, but most people avoided it because they could not figure out how a salad with obvious bits of egg and pickles could be pink, and not be some kind of Jell-O concoction. The result was that the left over potato salad fed me for a couple of days – YUMMY! When I want a snack, I just go to the garden and grab a cucumber from the cucumber patch. They are fresh and crisp and delicious. For lunch, I grab a garden fresh tomato and slice it on homemade bread with an avocado. Tonight for dinner I had zucchini with melted cheese. (That was traditionally my secret power meal before football games in High School). For breakfast, I have been making berry smoothies and finishing off the remaining hard boiled eggs.
Why do you need to know this? I’m not sure, but I suspect that Adam didn’t really need Eve to cook his meals for him, with all that fresh produce literally hanging around.
“Help Meet?” I have discovered that I can get a lot more done with nobody around. As a general rule, it takes at least 3 times longer (and 200% more frustration) to teach a kid to do a job instead of just doing the job myself. I have also noticed that when I clean a room, it STAYS CLEAN. What a concept! I have enjoyed being able to work at home without interruptions, and to follow whatever schedule I feel like (as long as I make my client meetings, I can work at the office, at home, morning afternoon or night. I have also enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house. And when I want company I invite my bluegrass buddies over for a jam session.
In fact, I have been enjoying myself so much that I was beginning to reflect that Adam may have been better off before Eve came along. As I was reflecting on this, I picked up this month’s Ensign. The feature article is entitled “Welcoming Every Single One” and talks about issues faced by single members of the church, who often find it hard to fit in to a church which places so much focus on families.
As I read the article, I realized that the only reason I have been enjoying being alone this past week is that it is such a novel contrast to my usual daily life. What would it feel like to come home every day and not have Nigel jump off the stairs into my arms? Or to hear silence all the time instead of Zach practicing his piano and bass? Or to not take Tim with me to the store and listen to his deep philosophical questions as we go? Or to take care of the yard without Alex to discover all the snakes, frogs and plants? And most of all not to be able to look into Julia’s eyes, to not hear her voice, and to not hold her close at night?
If I did not have the hope that my family will be coming home in a few days, the peaceful solitude I am enjoying now would turn into restless loneliness. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes, seeing the greener grass on the other side just makes you more grateful for your own yard. Not because it is less green, but simply because it is yours.
So, I will enjoy my last few days of being alone. But I am already looking forward to the day when the house is messy again, when I have to come home for dinner every night, and when I have somebody to help me in the garden.
