Dear Blog Readers–
I don’t know if any of you remember the Dunkin Donuts advertisement back from the 1980s but for some reason its catch phrase has stuck in my brain all these years. “It’s Time to Make the Donuts!” says Fred the Baker as he reaches to turn off his alarm clock at dawn and drag himself out of bed. You then see Fred as he plods around his house in his pajamas, gets on his Dunkin Donuts uniform and leaves his wife — with curlers still in her hair– standing in the doorway as he goes off yet again to make the nice fresh donuts.
And you can’t help feeling sorry for Fred who every single day has to get up early and make the donuts. Now, I’ve always been a bit of an opposite of Fred. I am someone who is usually roaring and ready-to-go in the morning (comes from my grandmother) and always super-enthusiastic about whatever I am working on.
A little aside here, I remember back when I was applying for Universities, one of my first interviews was Amherst College in Western Massachusetts. I arrived for the interview anxious but prepared and there was an beautiful, middle-aged woman with gorgeous auburn hair pulled back into a loose bun doing the interview. She seemed like one of those intellectual, granola types, and I was eager to impress her. During the interview she asked me to give one word to describe myself. I paused for half a second and said, “enthusiastic.” Her face seemed to drop slightly, and for the rest of the interview she seemed not-so-enthusiastic about me.
Once done, I walked across the campus with my friend Kathleen, lamenting over the interview that had somehow gone wrong. It was a gorgeous fall day and preparations were underway for a football game. Suddenly it dawned on me. “Cheerleaders! Kathleen, don’t you get it? Cheerleaders are enthusiastic! She probably thought I wanted to be a cheerleader. She probably thought I didn’t care about studying that I just wanted go to University to meet football players. AARRGGH. Why did I say that word???”
I never did get accepted to Amherst and ever since then I have had a strange relationship with the word “enthusiastic.” But now, I am feeling decidedly less enthusiastic and it is worrying me. Recently I have been feeling like Fred the Baker. My alarm went off this morning and I turned to my husband and said, “Oh God, it’s time to make the donuts.” He ignored me and did a “Fred the Baker” shuffle into the kitchen. He then came charging back, “There’s no milk in the house, someone’s gotta go buy some milk!” “You go,” I said and rolled over and pulled the covers over my head.
So what are the qualities of Fred the Baker? He is loyal, determined, conscientious, reliable, and persistent. Why hadn’t I thought of one of those words during that interview? Fred the Baker doesn’t roll over and pull the covers over his head, you know you can always count on him.
Perhaps it is a middle age thing. All my enthusiasm and energy seems to get sucked away by my endless to do lists. Every day I feel as though I am making donuts with no end in sight. My determination to become a famous foreign correspondent in my 20s has melted away into a “Will I survive?” mentality as I near 50 with three adolescents. Of course I will, I just need to get out of my rut and “put a little pizzazz in it,” as my grandmother would say.
Dear Blog Readers, I was just wondering if that ever happens to any of you? Do any of you have a “time to make the donuts moment?”
I am trying to think how some of you might feel when you wake up in the morning…
“time to shuttle kids around in the car”
“time to pick the olives”
“time to deliver the babies”
“time to teach the class”
“time to walk the dog”
“time to clean the house”
“time to do laundry”
“time to work on the book”
“time to write another blog post”
“time to go to work”
Perhaps it is time for all of us to take a vacation!
And by the way here’s the link to the “Time to Make the Donuts” ad if you are interested.
And oh my yes. This is another terrific reflection. Because life is hard, hard, work, no matter what work you are doing, and because time is scarce, demanding, overly full, the thing you long for, the harsh driver. And precious. Thanks for getting us in touch with real time.
Thank you Nancy. I actually thought of you and almost wrote in “Time to Write the Sermon”. You summed it up correctly time is the thing we long for.
What a fun read!
If I have set my clock I usually awake before it goes off and then I am in a trance looking at my mechanical clock that is ticking away and I fall into a repetitive refrain of “time keeps a ticking, ticking, ticking into the future” and I am lulled back into sleep for a few moments again……..and then all hell breaks lose!
Great to hear from you Lega. Yes, it is when “all hell breaks lose” that is the problem for all us. No slouching around in bed for us women!
Wow Trisha — a great message. I too feel the burden of my “to do” list I find that many times I make the BG LIST — and then it just does not get done — and eventually I find many items on the list are no longer important — or so out of date it doesn’t matter. Not necessarily a good way to reduce the list, but many times it works. Have a good Thanksgiving — and remember — it is Time to Make the Donuts. Cheers. Ruth
Oh my goodness Ruth, I’ve forgotten about Thanksgiving. It is not a holiday in Italy, so sometimes it slips my mind. It is not “Time to Make the Donuts” it is “Time to make the Turkey!!!”
Loved the commercial, love the post.
Zach, now I would have though you were too young to know the commercial. It was a great one.
Just this morning I was thinking that maybe I’m running out of gad for this job. We must be in the same channel or whatever it’s called. In fact, I think it’s the looming holidays and the vague reminder that after Thanksgiving everyone goes into panic mode getting ready. We have talked about getting nothing but gift cards, but I know I’m falling off that platform already. Somehow it will work out. And we’ll get refueled again….I hope!
Hi Penny — I think you must be right….it is a pre-holiday anxiety. Let’s hope the holidays, once the come, give us all the needed boost!
Where are we going, Trish?? I am so onboard!!
I am not sure…to the seaside I think, a white sandy beach and a pina colada would do me a world of good!
. . vacations? Donuts (to use an Americanism)? An opportunity to meet up with a fellow blogger? Forget everything – which is what I did – got to the station and discovered I’d left my bag with passport; phone, cash card; Turkish ID; you name it at the house. We eventually made it to Rome that night and on top of it all I’ll admit to being relieved that you hadn’t cooked up a storm, but so sorry we never got together this time around. I was courts martialed by J, the lady ticket clerk (who was marvellous) and a couple of lady passengers – I’m on donut fatigues (KP to you guys) for life!
I just found your article when I was looking for a TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS meme to txt to my co-worker at 4:31 AM. I say that catch phrase most AMs. I consider myself to be a Fred. He’s a dream employee! I decided today that I am going to pursue my dream job of a fish and wildlife officer which means getting in shape and no more donuts to qualify. Accounting as a profession has paid the bills and then some for me for over 25 years, but I want a job that makes me want to jump out of bed every AM before the alarm goes off and scream ar the top of my lungs, “It’s time to make the donuts!” BTW Rome is great! I was anointed with some Wholy Shit by the Vatican pigeons when I was there in 1989!