Is “dawdling” a word?

Earlier this week, Christina called me from the Metro station to say she was back from her cooking adventure and would be home in 10 minutes (its only 2 blocks). When she showed up 2 hours later, I asked what had happened. She replied that she was “dawdling” - and had discovered a beautiful courtyard in the building across the street; met the nicest woman with a cute dog; and bought me lunch.

The dictionary defines dawdle as “verb {I}. to do something or go somewhere very slowly, taking more time than is necessary:. -”. Under “usage” there is a small picture of Christina.

If an observer could watch Christina and I leave the apartment in the morning on our way to get breakfast she would see us leave the building holding hands and setting off firmly on the path to Bread and Roses. What she couldn’t see was that I had carefully plotted out the shortest possible walking route and was holding Christina’s hand in a vain attempt to keep her on track. Within 50 feet, something “interesting” catches her eye and the progression slows. At some point I give up and sit down on a bench or step to wait. By the way, dawdling is not limited to walking. When she’s in front of a computer it’s the same thing – hours pass and she returns with arms full of printouts of things for us to do!

Fortunately for both of us, the world is a very different place seen through Christina’s eyes. It’s full of interesting sights and things to do. Every open door is an opportunity to explore a new courtyard; every info display has lots of museums to visit and courses to take; every magazine is full of movies and shows to see. We can’t walk down a block without meeting someone new (usually a shop owner or a dog). When Christina is around there’s never a shortage of interesting things to do.

I’m convinced that “dawdling behavior” is related to gender. I tend to go view life (like most guys I suspect) as a series of tasks or missions to be completed as quickly as possible. Christina views life as a series of wonderful potential opportunities. One of my jobs is to come up with a list of restaurants for us. I approach this by getting Zagats and the Michelin Red Guide and cross referencing them by “arrondisement”, ambiance and food type. I then give her a list of “acceptable” restaurants by type and travel distance. I am also responsible for getting the newspaper and providing books for us to read. Christina’s job is to plan everything else – walks, museums, movies, jazz clubs, stores, etc. She also is responsible for planning, marketing and preparing one home dinner a week (per our negotiated agreement). She then wonders why I have more time for reading than she does!

Part of the reason that we both love Paris and New York is the shear diversity of things to do. You can easily spend a day (or 2 or 3) just walking around looking at interesting buildings, parks, shops and markets. The big museums and tourist sights are often just icing on the cake. I can’t imagine living anywhere else but one (or both!) of these cities.


Well, I’m off. Christina has a busy day planned for us. We probably won’t get to half the things on the list but there’s always tomorrow.

Paul del Balso, Paris Journal
October 25, 2005


Christina’s aside:
When you dawdle, there’s no telling just what you might find. Have a look at this wonderful Wallace fountain which dispenses drinking water in many parts of Paris. These cast iron fountains are named after Richard Wallace, the Englishman who paid for their construction in the late 1800’s and the water dispensed today is still good to drink.

Don’t let Paul fool you--he dawdles as well, but he calls it shopping!