DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Enjoy the day-to-day moments while they're here

I pushed the mower around the lawn and rounded the corner. I recalled, about 10 years ago when we first moved to Boardman, my parents came to our new house and helped mow the lawn. Neither of them made square corners, and it stuck in my mind.
Rounding the corner this rare, beautiful October day, the sun warm on my face but not too warm, the leaves still green but the breeze finally hinting of autumn, I thought of my mother those 10 years ago.
It was hard to imagine a greater change occurring in a single decade. That day she was robust, healthy and happy. By last fall, she had lost much of her muscular control, had moved into assisted living and passed on in January.
So much could happen in so short a time. As I pushed the mower along, I reflected on life and its best use. Should I be spending time working on the house, remodeling the exterior as we were, cleaning the interior, mowing the lawn during what might have been free time?
There was a movie at Movies 8 I wanted to see. And the Barnes & amp; Noble gift card one of the kids had given me for my birthday in April was still tucked in my wallet.
Seize the day
It has become clich & eacute; to think, "I may be hit by a bus tomorrow; I'd better make the most of today." But this year had made the clich & eacute; my own. Not only had my mother passed in January, my husband fell off a ladder in the spring. He escaped without a scratch, but it made me think about the fragility of life. A friend's son died, a mere baby at 19, and I went further along the continuum toward carpe diem - seize the day.
But how do you do that, I wondered, as I circled the tree with my lawnmower. A stick ground into the blades and was shredded into wood chips. John and I should be at that movie right now or on a long walk. But the grass is too long. The siding on the house is embarrassingly shabby. The kitchen floor needs to be mopped. What will we have for dinner if no one shops?
Not a bit of sweat formed on my brow; it was a perfect day, and I wondered what I SHOULD be doing with it instead of this.
A couple, somewhat older than I, walked by, out for a stroll, and I let the mower stop. The rumbling motor noise was replaced by the honking of Canada geese in the distance.
"A beautiful day," I said.
"Oh yes," the woman replied with a slight European accent. Her husband stood quietly next to her, his hand circled around hers. A week earlier and they might have been wrapped up in their winter coats, but not today.
"I'm wondering if I should be mowing the lawn," I said, apologizing for wasting such a glorious day. "The grass is just so long."
"Oh," she said with a smile, "enjoy it while you can do it."
And there it was. The answer. The true meaning of "seize the day." Enjoy it while you can do it.
Day-to-day things
Maybe you aren't supposed to abandon all the ordinary day-to-day things that must get done; abandon them in favor of "play." Perhaps, you're supposed to seize those ordinary day-to day-things and enjoy them as much as you would enjoy playing
It was a lovely day, and, the truth was, I was enjoying every minute of mowing that lawn. And I had enjoyed working hard around the house as well. If that is all I did until bedtime, I would have had a good day. Why hadn't I noticed it?
And the reason my mom popped into my mind became clearer. In the end, when my mom couldn't go to the bathroom herself, or wash herself, or, eventually, feed herself, what do you think she would have given to have been able to stand outside in the sunshine and mow a lawn again?
I'll tell you. She would have given anything. The things she minded losing most were the ordinary day-to-day things. She didn't long to go on a European vacation or to loll about in a park or to see a good movie; she longed to dress herself and brush her own teeth.
As my neighbor said, enjoy it while you can. It might not get any better than this, but, you know what, so what? It doesn't have to. It's often good enough.
murphy@vindy.com