I don’t knit. It so happens I do extremely fine petit point.*

by chuckofish

It’s finally Saturday! I have no plans for the weekend other than exam grading, and that’s just fine with me. I’m going to channel my inner Stoic and cultivate contentment. As Seneca wrote,

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”

Let’s ignore the kerfuffle in Washington. Whatever side you’re on, outrage will only raise your bloodpressure and shorten your life. Who needs that? Well then, let’s leave the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands to other people.

It’s time to enjoy the things we love and be grateful that we can. Today, for example, I’m going to finish re-reading Mary Stewart’s The Moons-spinners (yet again) and top it off by watching the Hayley Mills film version tonight. I haven’t seen it in ages and ages, but judging from the movie stills, it doesn’t follow the book very closely. I don’t mind — I’m in the mood for the mild peril of a mid-1960s Disney movie.

I looking forward to at least one swinging party that definitely isn’t in the book. 

But who cares? At least the characters will be decent, the scenery will be pretty, and nothing will affront my old-lady sensibilities. Plus, the script contains memorable lines like the one in the title of this post. So, if you are feeling a little overwhelmed by life, why not check out for a while and enjoy a some Mary Stewart/Hayley Mills?

*Tony Gamble in “The Moon-spinners”.