Doing it all, undomestically

Kasey Cox

As colleges around the country hold their pomp & circumstance celebrations, and high school graduations wait just on the other side of this calendar page…. and with the intense competition for jobs, and the dark views of the economy … perhaps now is not the time for me to tell you how much I loved a book that recommended stepping back from working your ass off.

I know that right now every graduation speech, every career counselor, every recruiter is going to tell you that in order to succeed, you’re going to have to work even harder, longer, and smarter than you’ve ever worked before. Certainly, many people are finding themselves working longer hours, whether they are recent graduates looking to impress a new boss, or an experienced worker with a new second job because a spouse was recently downsized. Some people who had been planning on retiring soon are finding that they’ll need to work a few more years than originally planned. I’m sympathetic: small business owners are putting even more hours themselves, and farming out fewer hours to other, part-time help.

So maybe it’s not a great time for me to recommend a fluffy story about a high-powered career girl who has to give it all up, but then realizes her life is better for working less.

Or maybe it’s the perfect time.

Hollywood recently discovered British “chic-lit” author Sophie Kinsella, producing a movie based on the first of Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” books. Perhaps Touchstone Pictures was hoping to make a movie as successful as the 2001 adaptation of Helen Fielding’s book, Bridget Jones’ Diary. Although the “Shopaholic” movie was amusing, and the books even more so, I think the producers missed the mark. Their timing, as well as their choice of Kinsella novels, seems rather poor in taste to me, if you’ll excuse the pun. I think the best Kinsella novel for this summer is The Undomestic Goddess.

If you’ve ever been a workaholic, a perfectionist, or a driven Type-A dude, you’ll really appreciate Samantha Sweeting, who is on the cusp of being named the youngest-ever partner at Carter Spink, high-powered London law firm. While her small apartment languishes under piles of empty take-out boxes and boxes of unopened junk mail, Samantha toils away more than fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, permanently attached to her Blackberry and cell phone. She’s brilliant, she’s determined, and she’s so stressed-out that she makes an enormous error that costs her clients 50 million pounds. Fleeing in mortification, Samantha runs, ending up on a train to the countryside. Exhausted and lost, she knocks on the door of a large country estate, gets mistaken for the interviewee from the Housekeeping Agency, and….

Okay, so the premise is a little far-fetched and the plot rather heavily engineered. What redeems this novel from the bin of just-another-beach-read is that there is nothing unrealistic about the character of Samantha Sweeting. Sure, Samantha is a comic character who begins to understand what is really important in life, and what brings deeper satisfaction and balance for the long-term. We could read that lesson in many a self-help book or hear it in a myriad of greeting cards: experiencing it yourself, however, sinks it home. If you love to read, sometimes experiencing feelings vicariously through a character is the next best thing. The Undomestic Goddess reminded me to slow down, enjoy the taste of food thoughtfully prepared and enjoyed with loved ones, the importance of taking time off.

I think that’s where we are right now. Yes, we may need to work hard, perhaps harder than ever to “get back on track.” Or maybe we’ll realize, as Samantha does, that the old track wasn’t so great after all. Perhaps less money but more satisfying work will fill our days. Food and friends instead of adrenaline and fancy toys. Coming out of crisis mode and into the good life that’s been here all along. That’s why I came home to the endless rolling hills of our home. Here’s to the good life, and to you, wherever you may find it!

Read all about how Hobo found his home in his children’s book, cleverly titled, “Hobo Finds A Home.” Read excerpts from his forthcoming book, containing his household tips and favorite recipes, at his blog: http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com. No Blackberries or chipmunks included. Martha Stewart and Opal Mehta, eat your heart out! Hobo knows the good life, and it doesn’t include plagiarism or jail time. He takes stock in the love of his fans.