I am sitting beside a lake as I write this.
It is 93 degrees.
I should be in the water, but I'm not.
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To most people, the arrival of the UPS truck brings a bit of excitement. You order something and when the truck drives up, it is nothing short of a present to yourself.
But what if the UPS truck is not delivering . but picking up customer orders. and not just occasionally . but every day? Then the UPS truck brings a very different form of excitement.
At the Quiltsmart farm, the sound of the UPS truck rounding the corner elicits a response quite a bit like a racer's dash for the finish line. The sound of the truck's motor in the distance is the cue. Although we hear it every afternoon at 2:00 pm, at least one of us says, "Oh, is it the UPS truck already?" This is quickly followed by a peek out the window to see. "Oh, oh, it is." Blood pressures rise, packages are quickly sealed, labels printed. The truck is fast approaching, rumbling down the gravel drive. Packing slips are attached to cartons. The driver turns at the barn then backs toward the studio. "Beep! Beep! Beep!" Inside the studio, the infamous end-of-day shipping report is processed. A few seconds pass and the back door of the truck is lifted. Do we have labels in the printer? Did we check the addresses? If there is a delivery to us, we gain the precious minute it takes to carry it into the studio. Did we request insurance on that quilt? Is the distributor's purchase order number on the carton?
The driver scans the barcode on the end-of-day report, loads the packages, bids farewell and heads down the dirt road. The studio begins to calm down.
The UPS truck symbolizes my first "end of day." You see, each day comes in two pieces: the first revolves around getting orders ready to ship, the second is generally more creative or administrative. Though the day began early, there is still much to do as I contemplate my priorities as the second piece begins.
Today, my thoughts were interrupted when the studio door was thrown open. It was my children with bathing suits and towels. "Come on, Mom, we have your suit!" "Oh kids, I can't. There's too much going on right now." The phone rang. It was my husband telling me to go jump in the lake. "OK, I give in." Be impulsive! I headed straight for the car "Are you sure you have everything?" I asked.
As I write this, the kids are playing in the cool water. It is 93 degrees, so why am I on the beach and not in the water? Maybe next time they will pack both pieces to my suit. Or perhaps I should order a one-piece suit and have it delivered in the UPS truck.
The sun begins its descent over the water and I can see clearly that this is my perfect "end of day."
Mary Pat "Mattie"