Daydreaming is My BusYness

 

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"

- Henry David Thoreau

“Busy” is often my answer when asked how I am doing.  Busy with too much I don’t run out of things to do and sometimes busy doing nothing.  I was emailing nobela to Harriet today and found it strange that I didn’t just pick up the phone and call her.  There’s always this notion that she might be busy or I am busy when she’s not. 

The idea of time - having time, making time and no time – here is different from what I’ve been used to.  Back in Manila I have the privilege (yes, I call that a privilege) of meeting my family almost everyday while also seeing my cousins and friends every now and then.  Because Papa lets me use his car is a different story.  I also get to talk to my sister every single day.  Here, people who live as close as even just 30 minutes away may not even have that luxury (yes, it is also a luxury).  One might meet grocery cashiers more often than he would anybody he knows.  Guilty!  While I would telebabad in Manila, here our phone just sits and collects dust.  And while before I would exceed my text messaging limit with my cellphone, here I don’t even own one.  Sherwin does, but he charges his phone more often than he uses it.  Texting is a long gone hobby. 

 

One would say, I’m a stay-at-home mom, I don’t have work, what makes me busy?  To that I say, I have a 24/7 job and it’s the hardest job on earth.  Now is that enough explanation why I am often busy?  I am not complaining though.  I am a happy homemaker.  But there are times I wonder if my life would be any different if I had not migrated, except only to realize that the what-ifs would be a waste of time to delve into.  After all, there will never be a finite picture, only imagination.

 

A plane ticket to go home is pricey.  To hire a maid is even more costly.  To sit down and do nothing would be like dead.  This is where daydreaming sets in.  It allows you to be with anyone anywhere anytime in thoughts.  It feels good while it lasts.  It takes you away from the so-called busy life for a while and puts you back giving you a different aura.  It makes you appreciate and embrace reality – where you are, where you come from and where you’re going to be.

 

And did I say it is free?