Making Beds

I'm visiting at my grandmother's house in Wimberly. I'm working hard (too hard?) at being in the present moment and discovering how challenging it is for me. I keep reflecting on just how much I've been working during the school year and don't know if there is any way to do it differently. I'm looking for ways to improve the quality of my presence, particularly for ND. Ironically, the harder I work during the day the easier it is to be present at night with her because I'm not interested in doing other things.

I'm looking around my grandmother's house at homemade things like quilts that I can't imagine anyone having time or care to make. I took the time to make the beds, remembering a quote in Children Of God, the sequel to The Sparrow. The main character, a priest named Emilio, is either working to make up his bed despite the crippling injuries to his hands that he suffered in the first book, or maybe he has given up on it at that point. Someone reminds him, "The path to enlightenment begins with a made bed."

Taking the time to make a bed means not having as much time for other things, but it also shows self-dignity and order. I usually don't do it, but when I do, I'm glad I did. Did Mother Teresa have time to make beds or did that cost her the chance to help one more person that day?