I called a friend yesterday and when I asked what he was doing, he said, “Just sitting and mulling.”

I haven’t thought of mulling in years. I rechecked the meaning of the word. It means to think, ponder and contemplate or even to plot, plus all of the overs: sweat-over, stew-over, think-over. Yep, I’ve done that – bet you have, too.

This morning as I mulled over mulling, I realized that I really, really enjoyed it. Of course, Hubs would call it plotting, however I have always thought of plotting as a good thing. Also mulling is a first cousin, I think, to procrastination. I do a little of that too and it is great fun. Yeah!

But in this fast, crazy, noisy world have we lost the art of mulling? That is a concern. I mean there are great amounts of noise in my personal space. In my house we have three TVs upstairs and two on the lower level.

Hubs preference is to have all five going at the same time, just in case he should miss anything, when walking from room to room. Oh yes, he has the laptop, desktop and his iPhone all up and ripping as well. It is like a chorus of screeching coyotes. Sigh.

So yes, noise is a big issue at the McKee ranch. Therefore in order to enjoy a good mulling session, I must close my office door and insert ear plugs, but it is just not the same.

I think the perfect setting for mulling is perhaps seated upon one of Granny’s quilts and that quilt placed in the middle of a pecan orchard. All is quiet and serene, with only an occasional, distant sound of a train whistle. Now that is a great place to mull.

Text and Twitter can interfere with a good mulling session too. Ah, but not in the pecan orchard where there are no communication towers allowed or satellites, not even a jet air plane, way up in the sky and well, forget the drones.

In other words, my dream, when seated upon Granny’s quilt, in the pecan orchard, takes place prior to Mississippi statehood. Yes, in 1817, when the world was quiet, could one really enjoy an hour or two of great mulling.

But what is the old adage – be careful what you wish for? In 1817, for most folks, there wasn’t time for mulling, what with the chickens to feed and cows to milk. But still, it was quiet and I think the people of our 21st century do not understand the meaning of total quietness, especially our children.

You know I am having a really good time mulling over this mulling-stuff. My conversation with my friend yesterday has reopened a quiet and serene world for me – the world of mulling. I think we will get along just fine, becoming the best of friends.

Makes Hubs a little nervous, it does. You see he can’t decipher if I am mulling or plotting and I’m not going tell, but you know that I am most likely mulling. Hubs will just have to tiptoe lightly until the time is right and I make the great reveal of my latest mulling session. It is gonna be big, really big.

You see the art of mulling is an important thing. It is a time for great expectations, a time to float upon a cloud or hitch a ride upon a star; it is a time to remember and a time to plan. Mulling, if executed properly, is an opportunity to accept the trials and tribulations in your life or even a time to climb that highest mountain.

Just think about it, without mulling, could Choctaw Chief Pushmataha ever have made friends with Andrew Jackson? Would the Indian Chief have joined forces with the General at the Battle of New Orleans? If not, then in 1817, Mississippi would have not been formed to become the 20th State in these great United States of America and we would have spoken with a British flair.

I encourage you to make a time for mulling in your life. As for me, I think I will make my way to the pecan orchard and take my seat upon Granny’s quilt. I feel a need to mull.

Anne McKee is a Mississippi historian, writer and storyteller. She is listed on the Mississippi Humanities Speakers Bureau and Mississippi Arts Commission’s Performing Artist and Teaching Artist Rosters. See her website: www.annemckeestoryteller.com