Another long day in a string of long days. It’s Saturday. I pour myself a second glass of white wine, head to the back of the trailer (ahem, Camelina) and pick up a piece of dark chocolate from the back bedroom. I put the glass on the bathroom sink, place the chocolate on my tongue and press it to the roof of my mouth. The chocolate begins to melt as I step into the shower.
I hate getting wet, and it’s worse those two days a week when I have to get my head wet to wash my hair. I often have to bribe myself. Water streaming, razor ready, cream rinse next, I savor the rich chocolate and think about that glass of wine waiting for me outside the shower curtain.
It has been another long day of dancing with my schedule and To Do list. My shower is the last hurdle of this day. I’m trying not to think about tomorrow, a quadruple header beginning at 9am and ending 12 hours later. Four commitments involving three different locations.
Sunday has gotten away from us. What started out as a day of rest, has become a day of meetings, work parties and potluck. To make it up to myself, I promise to figure out how to get one Tuscany Day a week.
I borrowed the word Tuscany Day from Lyle. To him it means a day without getting into the car. Not once, not for anything. A whole, delicious day at home without any hard and fast deadlines.
And here’s the irony. Our little group of hard working folk who live to create a sustainable lifestyle – our little group is ever in motion, always on the move and seemingly always in our little cars. In fact, Tuscany Day is synonymous with utopia. It’s an elusive goal, a dream of walking, biking or maybe even driving a pony cart to our small and simple destinations.
I step out of the shower and take a long drink of cool, sweet wine. Here’s to my next Tuscany day, I say to myself. Here’s to the day I don’t have to drive anywhere.