Five minutes

I never sit quietly.

If I’m sitting, I’m watching television or reading or fiddling with my phone (reading blogs or Facebook or crushing candy) or working.  If I’m not doing anything, I go to sleep.

I feel sorry for my poor brain.  She never gets a rest.  Even while my body is sleeping, my brain is concocting crazy dramas.

So this evening while I was just about finished making dinner but before the meatloaf was done baking, I decided to set my phone timer for five measly minutes.  I went outside and brushed the dog hair off the patio furniture and sat down to be still and quiet for five minutes.

About two minutes later, I remembered that I needed to get a dish out of the oven.

I went back into the kitchen, took the dish from the oven and then returned to the back yard.

Then I got a text.

I reset my phone for five more minutes.  I tried again to sit quietly.  I had to resist the urge to investigate the fountain.  It sounded clogged or like maybe it needed to have more water added.  I noticed that the lawn needs to be “pooper-scooped.”  I saw the flower pot on the table that needed to be trimmed.

I sat there.  Quiet.  Wondered if I should sit facing the other direction.

Three minutes later, I heard someone in the house calling my name.

I ignored it.

The timer rang.

I swiped my  hand across the clogged pump in the fountain, trimmed the plant in the pot and went to the kitchen to get some water for it.  Then I finished cooking dinner.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll see if I can sit quietly for six minutes.