âThis isnât getting the work of the world done,â my mother used to tell me when I was young and talking on the phone to friends instead of cleaning my room or putting away the dishes or whatever else needed to be done. I still donât know exactly what the work of the world is, but it sounds so ominously important it made me believe that my laziness was in some ways contributing to world failure.
Her words still echo through my life. Even now, though I know that the world will go on even if I watch a whole nightâs worth of âDownton Abbeyâ episodes, I remember what my mother said and I turn off the TV.