Rotten Peaches and Languishing Laundry

Recalling the primacy of love, Christine Hanus reminds us to spend time with our loved ones, especially in ways that are meaningful to them.

When our family moved to a new area of the country, I was excited to learn that there were peach orchards nearby. I sent my husband off with the four older children to pick “enough for us to eat.” They came back with five large bags full! Since the fruit was already soft, and our budget was always tight, I made plans to use the peaches as soon as possible. 

The baby had other plans

One busy day, I was making quick bread, coffee cake, and freezer jam. At a crucial point in my baking, I realized that my baby, having had enough of my stall tactics, needed to be fed. Sitting down on the edge of my chair to nurse little Mary Catherine, my attitude was one of impatience. I tried to relax, but my agenda consumed my thoughts.   

Finally, I realized how silly I was being and settled back into my chair and cuddled my baby close, stroked her satin-like skin, and admired her pudgy little toes. Was that a hint of red in her (finally growing) hair? It was a magical time, and my cake never noticed I was gone. 

Dilemma: more chores, or time with my daughter?

Fast forward twelve years. Rushing from one thing to another all day, the hours had flown by and after dinner, exhausted, I dozed on the couch. When I awoke, I plunged into my neglected housework. I was folding the laundry when Mary Catherine came over to show me her new bottle of nail polish. We discussed the pros and cons of nail polish with glitter and without, and then she asked if I wanted her to paint my nails, a skill she had recently mastered at a sleepover.    

I hesitated. My nails were uneven and a bit grungy from gardening, and in the rare case when I do apply polish to my fingernails, glittery purple nail polish is not my style. Why should I stop what I was doing to acquire unwanted bling? Though silently regretting the fact that I would have to wait for my nails to dry before continuing my chores, I agreed to the pre-teen manicure.   

I sat at the dining room table and for the first time in a long time, engaged in Mary Catherine's idea of a good mother/daughter project. As she worked, she occasionally pushed back her long wavy blond hair, still slightly damp from a shower. I looked at her beautiful face and her young strong fingers. Once I kissed her arm, lightly covered in fine, blond hair and she let me. She applied the polish with a steady hand, an artist's hand, and we consulted periodically as to whether the particular nail she was working on had enough glitter. All too soon, it was over. 

Our priority should be love

The fact is, we can’t always spend as much time with our loved ones as we would like to … there is work to be done. But it is good to deliberately give our “to love” list priority over our “to do” list every morning. Like busy, servant-hearted Martha from Scripture, it is all too easy to become “anxious and worried about many things” (Luke 10:41).   

Sometimes abandoning our tasks to spend time with our loved ones, especially doing activities they find meaningful, is the best use of our time and allows us to live our lives with no regrets. Though we may occasionally have to let peaches rot and laundry languish! 

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Copyright 2024 Christine Hanus
Images: Canva