Dropping By

Imagine you're at home enmeshed in your routine and...the doorbell rings. Surprise! Someone is dropping by. When was the last time this happened to you? When was the last time you dropped by on anyone? When was the last time you heard the expression "dropped by"?

Keep pretending. What would the people dropping by see? Bed made? Dishes in the sink? If it's not a work day and it's still a.m., have you showered yet? Are you still in your pajamas? Do you own pajamas? If you have a spouse or partner, how about them? Are they more, less or equally as presentable or unpresentable as you? How about the general state of your home? Neat? Clean? Both? Neither?
 
My Sunday morning routine has included reading the NY Times for many years. A short while ago I finished an article from the Styles section where the writer claimed she can glean a great deal about others by surveying what their home looks like when they're not expecting guests. Suddenly, I heard my doorbell - just kidding. But the article did cause me to briefly ponder what that writer might conclude about me. From there I fondly recalled how dropping by or having others drop by used to be, if not common, not an unheard of occurrence. And I wondered when that more spontaneous spirit began eroding in my life and how much of that erosion is connected to judging and being judged. Kind of like how that NY Times writer does.