As I was driving home yesterday from work, I was struck by the image of a man dressed in a nice business suit, with his brief case slung over his shoulder, driving 60mph down the Merritt Parkway. For whatever reason, this image made me smile; I gave him the thumb’s up sign. While we can all assume that this man elected to find a more economical way to commute to work, funny to say, it was a very retro image for me, a throw back to simpler times. This made me start thinking…can the spiraling out of control economic down turn actually have a silver lining?
The Stamford Advocate just ran a series of articles on how people are adjusting to the high gas prices. Everything from buying mopeds to selling their SUVs, this economic crisis is unfortunately severe enough to make us all rethink our normal course of action. One of my girlfriends even mentioned to me (somewhat tongue in cheek, somewhat seriously) that no longer is the deposit money from the beverage recycling pocket money for her children! Paying $85 to fill up my car does force me think more carefully about the actions I take. My neighbor just bought a moped, his thought being that the cost of the moped will be paid back in the gas savings of running errands in the minivan.
Way, way back when, people stayed home….and life happened around them. Kids played in the neighborhood, parents hung out – chatting in the streets. The front porch was the focus of the house – welcoming all in; not the back deck. We were not maniacally driving around town, taking kids to their upteenth activity of the week. Maybe just maybe this “crisis” allows us to more readily say “no” – and thereby enables us to enjoy our homes more and the surroundings of our home. I crave those weekends where nothing is planned or scheduled…where we can just be home.
And maybe if we’re not so exhausted from being in the car all day, and the endless hours that are wasted being in that car, we can enjoy our home time more. We won’t be so stressed trying to squeeze in all the chores into a limited amount of time, and instead can focus our attention on good cheap family fun. A good game of Parcheesi with the kids, more family hikes vs. paying to go the amusement park, playing
backyard badminton and volleyball, growing a vegetable garden for the first time, saving an errand for another day when you can combine two trips to the same area of town, commuting to work with a friend, and enjoying the camaraderie of the drive, instead of becoming stressed about what lays before you for the day. Maybe it’s about walking and getting on the bike more often vs. always reverting to climbing in the car. Letting your child ride his bike the four blocks to his friend’s house. During the school year, when school was released early, my son would take the city bus from school downtown to the skate park. If I was home from work, I could see myself insisting on picking him up from school and driving him myself. But I wasn’t home. So I decided that it’s a good experience for him to take that bus – economically, environmentally, as well as a growing experience of demonstrating his independence. And what about “stayvacations” – the latest buzzword in the travel industry which is all about staying at home, being a tourist in your hometown and going places for the day.
And what will next winter look like? Probably wearing fleeces inside and throwing an extra blanket on everyone’s bed. Building fires in the fireplace more regularly … so far, that picture doesn’t sound so bad.
I know we’re all conscious of changing our ways right now. For some, it’s an economic necessity, for others, it’s a general conscientious reaction. What about you? Have you changed your routines or are you doing things a bit differently than just yesterday?