Miss Prism

Journal for Christa—

In Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, there’s a somewhat minor character named Miss Prism. Miss Prism often finds herself distracted. When we first meet her, she’s distracted by her attraction to the local clergyman, giving her student convenient opportunity to orchestrate her own distractions.

Apparently, Miss Prism cannot attribute her scatteredness to an aging mind, as in her youth, it’s discovered, she’d placed her three novel manuscript in a— 

(Well, it really wouldn’t be fair to tell that, now would it?)

But, it suffices to say that I feel like I’ve had many Miss Prism days this school year. I’ve often caught myself staring at a stack of books and notes, wondering which I should pick up next. So, in three weeks—short weeks, really—school will end and my brain can be as distracted in whatever whim it chooses.

Usually by this time, we have a plethora of plans and projects in the works. Other than a trip to Texas to see grandchild #9 after he arrives, there are no set plans. Jay isn’t busy mapping out diagrams and developing a “to do” list on a calendar. (I still have a summer project list sitting on my desk from two summers ago—so why would I bother?)

In some ways it’s been such a busy, distracted year that it’s hard to imagine a paperless life in three weeks. Jay always says, “The school year winds up; it doesn’t wind down.”

Now, things turned out all right for Miss Prism in the end—distractions and all. These days, I’m kind of hoping for the same.