Ask a dozen friends and acquaintances how they are today, and one one-word refrain will certainly top the list of replies: "Busy!" Among Amy's and my many pet peeves, this has been a big one since we started noting the trend several years ago, the movement away from the rote "fine" response, which has a benign and decidedly passive tone, to an adjective that connotes action and productivity. Plus, respondents generally lace "busy" with an undertone of weariness (if not exhaustion) and irritation, as if they were the victim and not the cause of this condition.
Don't get us wrong. Busy-ness happens, we know. We've got multiple kids involved in multiple activities, large and active extended families, jobs (paid and unpaid), friends, houses, laundry, groceries, cars, fitness regimens, book lists, dvd queues, etc. That's all good stuff, right? Except the laundry. So why the irritation?
Life is busy. Tell us something we don't know. That's why we asked.
No comments:
Post a Comment