Musing on the Fourth Commandment. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree.
Yesterday, Sunday — the SABBATH — I had work to do.
Deepest conflicts of my soul Number 1,893:
I spend the majority of my Sunday afternoons in front of the computer.
Those of you who work from home can relate. It’s wonderful for many reasons, but you never rinse out your coffee cup, shut down the computer, and tuck your chair under your very tidy desk (because the desk in my fantasy office on the 79th floor of glass and steel is so neat it doubles on weekends as an out-patient surgery table).
You never leave.
For some odd reason, it’s been on my heart that I have been a blatant violator of the Fourth Commandment.
This seems rather odd. But really, what isn't these days? (And for once. I have nothing to do with this typo.)
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.”
Before no adultery and no murder. No work on Sunday.
Like most things in bible, it makes perfect sense.
All that work, rush, mothering, wifely-business 24/7 earns you is a spectacular view from a corner rubber-room at Bedlam.
* * *
Alas (though all psyched to honor the 4th Commandment), I worked yesterday…stepping over the contents from attic down the street that I still need to carry upstairs into our attic.
* * *
Deepest confession of my soul Number 592: Children are plants not moles.
They need to be out in the fresh air running free, getting sun-burnt and sweaty — not pale-faced and carpal-tunneled playing video games.
So Sunday, I slammed shut the television cabinet, opened the back door and said, “Be creative.”
* * *
They were quiet and I worked. And worked and worked and worked.
Then I began to worry because it was so quiet.
I went into my son’s room. Do you see the Christmas tree box pictured above? In his room, its contents were a blaze and the floor littered with bits of construction paper — castoffs from ornaments they were busily creating.
The only reason that tree won’t be up from now till December 25 is because they couldn’t find all the legs to make it stand.
* * *
See what happens when you break the Fourth Commandment?
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What have your children done while you were so happy, working away because they were quiet? Too quiet.
