500 Words: Dear Unfinished Business
https://open.abc.net.au/explore/147870
As I raise my sleepy head off my pillow and shuffle my warm body up and out from under my covers, thoughts of unfinished business surface once again and I wonder whether I will ever have the courage to take this never-used path and see if the journey is all I’ve dreamt it might be.
It’s cold, dark mornings like this that really make me wish I had the strength to “just do it.” My bare feet hit the carpeted floor and even the soft loop pile can’t distract me from thinking, once again, about this wish of mine.
In the grand scheme of things, I really don’t think I’m asking too much. After all these years of getting educated, going to work, raising children and running a household, I try to convince myself that I have paid my dues. Decades of getting up and out, facing the day head on, jumping on the hamster wheel of life and running for all I’m worth really should entitle me to pursue this one little indulgence.
The “Do Something For Yourself” mantra could come in handy here, if I chose to use it. If I pursued this longing of mine and really pandered to this fantasy that I’ve been living with for all these years, I really would be doing something for me, for once.
And what was that other saying that gets bandied about on advertisements involving gorgeous, young things and beauty products – something along the lines of me being “ worth it”…? Hmm…I wonder if it’s okay if I think I’m worth it or do I need the imprimatur of a family member or close friend before I can justify doing what I long to do ?
I think of what I need to get this business finished : coffee (cappuccino, piccolo latte, machiatto – I’m definitely not fussy); chocolate (but certainly not compound); and wonderful, wonderful books (just skip the Chic Lit, please).
And the setting for the resolution of my unfinished business? To do it properly, I really should go all out. Egyptian cotton sheets with the highest thread count?…. – of course, nothing but the best for this “dream-about-to-come-true”. After decades of wanting to go down this particular road, I don’t think scrimping on a few hundred threads is warranted.
The logistics of this whole thing is a little daunting, but perhaps I could strike up a deal with the TV Tim Tam genie, you know the one who grants the wish of a never-ending supply of chocolate biscuits. That guy in the puffy silk shirt, blowsy pants and curly-toed shoes looked like a reasonable sort of bloke – maybe if I offered to share my goodies with him, he’ll make regular appearances out of his lamp and keep the coffee hot and steamy, the chocolate box full and the book basket overflowing.
And so, as I stand shivering in the shower waiting for the hot water to flow, I dream of my warm bed, my coffee, and my chocolate, the latest best-sellers and my ridiculously high thread count sheets, knowing that I’m finally ready to give it a go.
Come some day soon, I’m going to see what it’s really like and finish off my unfinished business with the help of a whole lot of determination, a basket-full of goodies and 5 simple words : “I’m not getting up today!”
Diana Harley 