a lot about nothing

Rainy mist out of sallow clouds that can't really decide what to do. It's a no yard work, kid at a friend's kinda day...

What to do if anything at all? That was the question that weighed on my mind early Saturday morning as sleep escaped me, as it always seems to do on those mornings that time doesn't bind you to. Of course, no one knows what it is that wakes you on these lazy mornings. A bird whistling to it's mate at 5 am for an early morning rendezvous or a teenager sneaking in during the wee hours of the morning before the sun has a chance to throw a beam their way and expose their misdeeds. Hell, whatever it was, it woke me and started chanting in my brain, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TODAY!?

I hate that question, as if our very existence hinges on the fact that we always have to be doing, producing, thinking, spending and yet, I fall victim most every time. Not this time I promised myself as Jake rolled over to grab the last couple of zzzz's before he woke to my staring at him full on. That always seems to do the trick, it's like I can use my eyes to pry his open, but it usually doesn't put him in a very good mood. I was careful this morning. I didn't want any of that nonsense to get in my way of having what was going to be a wonderful, relaxing, romantic, Mary Poppins crosses Dirty Dancing kinda day. I mean, I could already envision Jake and I dancing across the countless vineyards in the rain. Seriously, was I delusional? How could I work this to my advantage and NOT do anything, yet NOT waste this precious day with its hourly pockets of freedom from sun up to sun down? Carpe diem!

Well for starters, we both woke up starving. A late night Chick Fil A combo meal just didn't stick to our ribs, so food was on our brains. Rather than just "grabbing a quick bite" I wanted to work this to my advantage and into the master plan and that I did! Jake was so hungry that he agreed to drive 50 miles up Hwy 52 and Hwy 268 to Shelton Vineyards to have lunch at Harvest Grill, which we discovered had recently been featured in Our State. Our stomachs churning the entire way, we pointed the Honda north and between hallucinogenic moments due to lack of food and the hypnotic swack of the windshield wipers, we are certainly lucky to have made it in one piece. When we exited the car just steps away from the restaurant and entered the door, it was clear that we were just in time. We were the first ones there, which was perfect, because my food and beverage would take top priority, which it ultimately did. Jake was served a fresh cup of Starbucks and I enjoyed my first glass of a 2009 Savignon Blanc. We were seated in the patio area and the rain on the roof and the views of the vineyard started me to visualizing the romantic embrace of a slow dance, I thought I even heard Van Morrison in the background...maybe it was just the wine.

Fast forward, lunch was wonderful, the tour was lovely and we determined that the rest of our afternoon would be cemented with window shopping in Mt. Airy. Who was this man and why was he doing all of these things that I wanted to do? He even held my umbrella, parked close to the shops and didn't roll his eyes or stay outside when I wanted to look at boutiques and home furnishing stores. We strolled, we laughed, we took silly pictures and posted them on facebook. We people watched, we talked about the shops and restaurants our town needed and the differences in places and really, we did nothing. We didn't make phone calls or close million-dollar deals, we didn't talk politics or solve budgeting woes and we didn't spend gobs of cash on trinkets that would be hauled off to Goodwill or displayed in next year's yard sale.

After a few hours of hanging out in downtown, we hopped in the car looking like kids who just snuck out to play in mud puddles and found ourselves grinning and relaxed. We pointed the car south this time, popped in the grocery, grabbed two steaks and a bottle of wine, and headed home. Thoroughly satisfied with our day, the rain continued to intermittently hiss and mist and the wind cycled through the trees, we settled in to a couple of movies. Sure, it sounds like we did something. I know your brand of cynicism that wants to accurately define and categorize what something and nothing are. But we did nothing by our definition and I want more nothing and that in itself is saying something.