Sometimes you hunker down.
What was it the poet said? The world is too much with us. There are times when we can all agree that things aren’t going well. These are the times when we should be able to help one another. Going inside ourselves for comfort doesn’t mean cutting everyone else out. It means finding the root things that sustain us at the most elemental level. We should be able to share those things, those moments, those private resources.
I invite you all to share now. What keeps you sane? A rich beef stew? A catch in the back yard? A book read out loud with the kids? An arm around your spouse? Let’s hear it.
It doesn’t have to be poetic. I don’t care if it’s bowling or chihuahua tricks or Fred Astaire movies. But there’s no way we’re not all hunkering down in some way right now. We don’t have to do it all alone.
I hunker down with my 6 month old granddaughter watching Youtube music videos. So far I think her favorite is The Killers’ “Miss Atomic Bomb.” But she also likes Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody,” and The Don Shirley Trio’s “Freedom/I’m On My Way.” The real winner though is Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms” which puts her right to sleep. I’m 66 years old and was doubting if I would ever have a grandchild, but now, not only do I have one, I’m living in the same house with my son and his family. I’m living in my son’s basement and we are both gainfully employed. How cool is that?
Suds, that is great to hear.
What keeps me sane? Having family and friends available helps, even if I don’t contact them much aside from calling the folks every couple days. Reading, working on whatever my latest project is, listening to Spotify. My freaky ex-stray dog who’s basically an affectionate bundle of nerves with an appetite (possibly a great Dane/greyhound-or-whippet mix; dramatic change in temperament from the black Lab). The prospect of maybe actually doing some spring cleaning this year. Video games, sometimes; I like the “open-world” games where you can explore a city or countryside at leisure, but sooner or later they mostly run out of secrets. A nap now and then can be rejuvenating too.
A great question.
I read G. K. Chesterton. Jovial old GKC has a way of looking at the world that can always be counted on to raise my spirits or energize me for the fight. There has never been a warrior both as cheerful and fearless as he.
I like long walks late at night after everyone else has gone to bed and the world is quiet. The one house on the corner with the honeysuckle or jasmine or whatever smells so wonderful that I have to slow down and breathe deeply. I feel especially good when I catch a glimpse of the great horned owl that hunts our neighborhood.
Music can help me keep a sense of perspective and story. Palestrina. Rachmaninoff. Or — something completely different — Andrew Peterson.
Brewing a pot of high-mountain oolong tea.
And I have a good woman. That helps too. A lot.
I had to unplug from the news and from Facebook almost completely. The news because almost all of it is bad and Facebook because seeing the stuff that some of my formerly good friends say makes me very sad. I know all that stuff is still there, whether I’m paying attention to it or not, but my mood improves when I don’t constantly bombard myself with it like I used to.
Reading keeps me sane, too. Not even writing, because that actually makes me a little bit nuts, but reading is good. I usually read for an hour or so during lunch and with my kids at night. They are old enough now to where they can appreciate books other than Dr. Seuss. So far we’ve read a Pilgrim’s Progress, the Hobbit and are over halfway through the Chronicles of Narnia.
Other than that I’ve started working out for the first time since I was in the military. I feel a lot better and would recommend it to anyone.
Lastly, making an effort to connect with any old friends. Ones who haven’t completely lost their minds or become militant communists.
Pilgrims Progress? Sheesh. Some suggestions about works you AND your kids might enjoy more. Black Beauty. Kidnapped. The Secret Garden. The Black Arrow. My Friend Flicka. The Door in the Wall. Copper Toed Boots. Follow My Leader (Leader being a German Shepherd seeing eye dog), The Adventures of Robin Hood illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (young ladies in the 1890s). Cheaper by the Dozen. My Life with Father. Tom Sawyer. Eloise. The Pond. Parnassus on Wheels. Ivanhoe. And did I mention Black Beauty?
Happy to give you more information about these and many more if you’re interested. If you want, I’ll even do a post. The romance of life is the greatest gift we can give our children. Everything on my list is better than The Hobbit. And Pilgrims Progress is, sorry, unspeakably boring.
Better than The Hobbit? Hmm. Won’t agree with that one. Hearing my then-six-year-old running down the hall after being told to brush his teeth mock-screeching “We hatesss it my precious! We hates it forever!” was worth the entire read-aloud.
How could you skip Edith Nesbit? The Enchanted Castle or…. anything. Nesbit’s children are clever, and her books presuppose that her readers are, too.
A more recent juvie author that I really love is N. D. Wilson. Leepike Ridge is a retelling of the Odyssey, essentially (Wilson says “steal from the best”). The 100 Cupboards trilogy looks at first glance like a Narnia knock-off, but it isn’t. Fine, smart, wonderful story in its own right. Wilson was raised on Chesterton, which probably explains why I love his work so much.
Oh, yeah. Absolutely anything by Geraldine McCaughrean. Her adaptations of myths bring them alive. Her historical novels are a great way to pique the interest in other times and cultures. And her “authorized” sequel to Peter Pan is better than the original.
We can agree to disagree on The Hobbit.
Also, we’re of different generations. Your nominations are probably excellent, but I don’t know them. I was a kid earlier than that, I suspect.
Thinking I need to do a post about my nominations. Then YOU can do a post about yours. Sounds like a win-win. My own have to do with simpler things than theology. Things that ultimately make theology make sense. Your kids might be more philosophically advanced than I was when I read Black Beauty six times and Kidnapped seven times. I am, after all, a barbarian Scot. Hobbits didn’t advance my sense of the brave and heroic. I actually preferred the tragic tales of Hans Christian Andersen. I’m frequently wrong. Maybe I am this time too.
But I don’t think so. Would you expect otherwise?
Good grief, not a fan of Pilgrim’s Progress. Noted. I read it with them because I had never read it before and was curious. Both of my kids liked it more than I did. They’re young enough to enjoy following the story but not so old (like me) that the names of the characters hit with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer (“Christian”, “Evangelist”, “Innocence”, etc.). It might not be exciting but it’s a good allegory about life, and their great uncle died just a few days after we finished it, so explaining that in terms of the characters passing through the “Dark River” on the last step in their journey was very helpful. Also, now I know where “Vanity Fair” comes from. Not saying it’s the greatest book ever written, but I think you’re being too hard on it.
Thank you for the other suggestions. Some of them, like Black Beauty, are ones I never read when I was a kid. I was looking for more things to read with them after Narnia, anyway, so now I’ve got a whole bunch. So again, thank you.
Oh and one more thing I’d usually add is watching the hockey playoffs, which just started on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I cancelled my TV about two months ago. We were paying $80/mo for a service we never, ever used anymore and it looked like the Caps were not going to make the playoffs. Since they righted the ship and managed to get in, but now I can’t watch them. Figured there would be some streaming service showing playoff games but it seems NBC put the kibosh on that as part of their broadcasting agreement.
Then again, when the Caps shoot themselves in the foot and lose I enter an emotional tailspin that lasts for several months. At least I’ll be spared that this time around.
But do you want me to do a post offering a little more info about my nominations? I’m trying to decide if anybody cares about this…
Me? Absolutely. My older son is just finishing 1st grade and my younger will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. I plan on reading to them for several years to come. I’ll take your nominations because there are a lot of books I missed out on when I was a kid because I had this manic desire to try and read every single Hardy Boys book ever. I think I made it about 3/4 or 2/3 of the way through, then my parents stopped buying them for me and I had gone through all the ones my local library had.
Tomorrow then. A cornucopia of wonder for both you and your kids. You’ve taught them to listen while you read. Now comes the fun part. For all of you.
I play games with my wife, usually on the iPad these days. I try to take beautiful images of objects in space and hone that talent while marveling at the beauty of the universe. I play with my kids — hiking around, swinging, running, trucks on the living room floor, painting on the back porch, monster bubbles, Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii.
On the issue of what books to read to the boys, Narnia was up there, maybe the Hobbit eventually. But I was pleased to see many of my boyhood picks on the Laird List: Black Beauty, Kidnapped, Treasure Island. I’ll probably introduce some campy sci-fi in there too, Skylark of Space and Asimov’s Robot stories. Tintin, the graphic adventures — I own them all still, the ones I read as a boy.
Suds. Now that we know your year of birth, when’s your birthday? We should have a celebration here. Honor your favorite movies, music, and memories. Let us know. I’d love to make it happen.
@RL: Also, we’re of different generations. Indeed. And I didn’t expect you’d know the later authors I referenced. But I’m surprised you didn’t know E. Nesbit. Most of her kid stuff was written before 1920. She broke new ground in children’s lit. C. S. Lewis was indebted to her.
My own have to do with simpler things than theology. As the best stories should. I didn’t mean to give the impression my picks were either theological or philosophical… My choices in read-alouds are entirely governed by two things: 1) is it a good story; and 2) is it well-written. I like your picks. I read most of them growing up. The boys and I have read a few of them as read-alouds, although at 7 and 9 they’re not quite ready for the language of Stevenson. I’m working them up to it though. We found a “gently abridged” edition of “Treasure Island” that went over pretty well. What idiot boy doesn’t like pirates??
We’re studying the Middle Ages right now. They read “The Door in the Wall” earlier in the year, and now we’re on “Adam of the Road” (1943). Great stuff for history.
For me, “The Hobbit” was all about how a small, insignificant person ends up doing something brave and heroic. What’s the line from “Batman Begins”? “It’s not who you are that matters… It’s what you do that defines you.”
One other method of keeping sane I forgot to mention: putting on some high-quality headphones, closing my eyes, leaning back, & listening to music. Helps if you’ve had a drink or two, though it’s not required. With headphones you hear all sorts of nuances you don’t get through speakers, even to songs you’ve known for years. And I believe what C.S. Lewis said, that something greater is reflected in music.
Also, good news: I found a way to jury-rig the hockey playoffs onto my TV. Life is good.