Duties

Jury--A few days every few years--no big deal, right? Captive audience, time to read, the knowledge that you are doing a good thing even when for hours it may feel as though you are doing nothing at all. Aah, duty.

Parent-Teacher Conference--A few minutes every six months--that's enough, right? To discuss your child's progress in barely more time than in takes to say, "hi, I'm (insert child's name here)'s mom, and decidedly less time than it takes to get to the school and back. Aah, duty.

Homework Monitor--No matter how little work there is to do, it is always done as late as possible. Is the duty making sure it's done, or making sure the homework doers get a good night's sleep? That's a tough one, since the sleep will help in the short run, but the quality of homework will help in the long. Aah, duty.

The Theater--Okay, that doesn't sound like a duty. And yet, when you live in New York, sometimes you just have to make time--surrounding conferences and homework monitoring and jury duty--to leave room for theater. Aha! Duty.

Our lives are full of duties, large and small. We can let duty weigh us down or  let it lift us up--it's really just a matter of perspective. And I'll bet you can guess what my perspective will be.