A Day of Nothing-To-Do

Today, I had nothing to do.

My house was clean, no family functions, and no plans with friends. I was totally free to do whatever I wanted and what I wanted to do was NOTHING.*

One thing I've always enjoyed about a lazy day is the lack of a deadline. It's not a true lazy day if you know in the back of your mind that you have to be showered and ready to go at 5pm to meet up with someone. Kind of kills the lazy buzz, if you catch my drift.

I had no such deadline today. I reclined on my sofa content in the knowledge that I could stay there as long as I liked.

My phone rang at 4pm, Mom's ring tone. I sighed. I knew she'd want to do something together. I had a choice; I could agree to her plans and kill my lazy day or I could politely decline her invitation and continue in my day of nothingness. I chose the second option.

For about 2 minutes. I called her back and said I'd be over as soon as I put on a bra, changed my clothes, and put my hair in a ponytail. Oh, and I warned her that I hadn't showered, had no makeup on, and looked disgraceful. She didn't care. I spent a lovely few hours with her and my beloved Grandma; helping to hang the new window valances, playing cards, and chatting. They left for the play and I came back home, glad I'd chosen to spend time with them after all.

So, why did I chose to go over in the first place? Easy, I was bored. It had been so long since I'd had a day to do nothing - I thought I'd rejoice in it, but I didn't. The inactivity bothered me. Even as I watched tv, I had to be doing something else, even if it was just eating (which is bad on several levels).

I'm a little disgruntled to learn I'm becoming one of those people that can't be lazy or that doesn't enjoy being lazy every so often. Does the ability to be lazy need to be practiced in order to be kept? Kind of like the ability to stay up too late? I haven't totally lost these abilities, I can do both if needed, but I'm losing the enjoyment of them. I'd rather go to bed at a sensible hour (11pm or even 10:30pm), wake up early to exercise (6:30 or 7am), and continue to be active and productive throughout the rest of the day, at least intermittently. You know, an hour of tv followed with a couple hours of cleaning/playing/work/etc. Repeat pattern.

I think I'll live with this new shift, though. In fact, I can see myself becoming quite happy with how things are turning out. There's such a sense of accomplishment when one looks back on the day and knows that fun was had, people were enjoyed, and tasks were removed from the To Do list.

Sigh. I must be growing up...or something. *smile*


* I did make one exception - I had to water my garden plants!