I have no delusions of monarchy, I promise, but I do relate to a conversation that the young Elizabeth II may or may not have had early in her reign. This conversation was dramatized on the series “The Crown,” and went as follows: Elizabeth’s grandmother was telling her about the trials and challenges of ruling and said in all seriousness that “to do nothing is the hardest job of all.”

Obviously, no one cares whether I support(ed) the prime minister’s policies on coal mining, but there are still times when I must sit on my hands. My carrots have sprouted, but they are not yet two inches tall, and the cold frame does a pretty good job of recycling water, so I must wait to thin them, and I must wait to water them. In the potato patch, one plant has sprouted and a second is just starting to break the surface. It’s not time to add another layer of dirt, and they aren’t thirsty. Inside, I have a palm lily in a pot which recently almost died from too much water and not enough sun. Following my extensive internet research, I moved it to a south-facing window, and have patiently waited for the soil around it to dry out before adding more water. I’m also told that palm lilies do not need fertilizing: the occasional repotting with fresh soil will do the trick.

So, leave the carrots alone, leave the potatoes alone, and leave the palm lily alone.

I also have to leave the cat alone. He came home the other night with a mysterious injury, but he is feeling a little bit better each day, and we have a vet appointment in about ten days. To get him seen before then I would have to force his sore little body into his cat carrier and keep him there for many hours on the road and the ferry, and I really feel that mostly he needs rest (with, of course, careful monitoring). Right now, he is sleeping in one of his favorite beds, so I think I’ll go sit down next to him and read my book. And try to resist the urge to poke him in his owie.

For your further edification:

The Crown: To do nothing is the hardest job of all – Bing video