Chores Before Play
FIELD NOTE No. 006I used to think chores were just obstacles between me and enjoyment… but over time, I’ve realized they might be the enjoyment itself.
Split the firewood.
Clean the boat.
Change the bearings on the trailer.
Mow the trail.
Plant the trees.
Build the coop.
Get everything ready.
Then go enjoy yourself.
At some point I started noticing something.
The anticipation often lasted longer than the event itself.
A fishing trip becomes a weekend.
But the planning starts months before.
A deer season lasts a few weeks.
The work begins in the spring.
A campfire burns for an evening.
The wood was split a year ago.
The older I get, the harder it is to separate the two.
The preparation becomes part of the experience.
The work becomes part of the memory.
Maybe that’s why my favorite days rarely look like vacations.
They look like projects.
A pile of lumber.
A stack of firewood.
A boat in the driveway.
A shovel leaning against a tree.
For a long time I thought those things were simply the price you paid to get to the good part.
The older I get, the more I wonder if they were the good part all along.
— Esker