Wonder Woman (and My Tragic Realization That I Will Never Be Her)

                                         

Fall is upon us, and I sit here wondering where the last couple of months went.  I did a lot.  But there seems to be a long list of things I intended to do and didn't.  And another list of things that I should get to, but haven't.  And, worst of all, the list of things that I missed doing, causing some major crisis or another.

What happened?

I am a high energy person.  I do lots.  I got 1200 yards of cotton spun this past month.

I have indigo dyed it. 

It is now transforming itself into a lovely knitted top.

I have taught workshops, worked on Fibre Weeks 2010 and 2011.  I have raised, tended, and harvested a garden.  I have cooked meals, cleaned my house, done the laundry, paid the bills.  I have done everything but solve world hunger (though there are 8 apple pies in the freezer that may be a good start!)  But, I have come to the tragic realization that I will never be Wonder Woman.

I'm not talking about the comic-book character, who is a princess of an Amazon tribe who can, among other things, move at superhuman speed, commune with animals, and coerce the truth out of villains with her Lasso of Truth.  You, know, the tall woman in the red, white, and blue bustier.  Truth be told, I share many of that Wonder Woman's talents.  And, possibly, some of her wardrobe.

I'm talking about that Wonder Woman of the 21st century.  The woman who holds down an amazing job, raises ideal children who all get straight A's, keeps an immaculate home, and always has a home-cooked, gourmet meal waiting for her tired husband when he gets home from the office.  She is the woman who is the president of the school parent association, leading the bake-sale and hot lunch committees to heights only ever previously imagined.  She is the woman who throws themed birthday parties for her kids, complete with entertainment and appropriately cutsie loot bags.  She is the woman who serves on the boards of local charities, and attends every meeting.  She is the woman who is always immaculately dressed, with her hair and make-up perfect. 

Oh.  Wait.  I was that woman! (Except  for the amazing job--I was a stay at home mom, which was amazing for me, but no so amazing to the rest of the world.)  The operative word here, however, is was.

But something has happened.  I am no longer interested in or have time to get involved in the fascinating details of hot lunch budgets and next month's menu choices.  My kids are well beyond the themed birthday parties--at least I think they are...  Anyway.  I've missed so many charity meetings that I have felt compelled to resign from boards.  Though, I am still a pretty snappy dresser.

I tell myself that I have chosen to slow down, to focus on this little obsession with string and not clutter my life with busywork.  And, for the most part, that is true.  I would rather be making string.  But life has to be taken care of.  Food must still be procured, and sooner or later, the Mount Kilimanjaro of laundry must be scaled.  Bills need to be paid.  Eager learners must be introduced to the mysteries of twist.  Adventures must be...advented?

However, last week. it all came to a grinding halt.  I was felled by a lowly virus.  And when I say felled, I mean knocked flat on my a**.  In bed, wishing I could die, for 5 days.  Incapable of brushing my teeth.  Felled.

I did NOTHING.  Okay, maybe a little knitting.  But, otherwise, nothing.

And something amazing happened.  THE WORLD CONTINUED TO TURN.  The sun rose and set. People got up, went to work, came home.  My input was not required for the normal daily functions of over 6 billion people. 

I cannot begin to describe how liberating this discovery was.  I could just lay there and rest and recover and the world went on. 

Oh, my inbox is something fierce this week, and it will take me forever to catch up on emails.  Mount Kilimanjaro has reached new heights.  We have been eating whatever was in the back of the fridge for 3 days now, and the pickins is getting mighty slim.  But, I have seen the light.

Even Wonder Woman took a day off, every now and then.

So, if things slip by every now and then, let them slip.

I may never be the Wonder Woman that we are all being brainwashed to believe we must be, but I will be the wondrous woman that I am.  And when I need to say no, I will know that the world will continue to turn.  Sometimes, I need to sit and do nothing.

Or sit and make string,  Yeah, that's better.

And that other stuff? 

I'll get around to it.