Friday's Wrap-up

Theme of the week: LAZY! It has been another great week at the Lake! I have been practicing LAZY! Don't get me wrong--there's still cooking, laundry and parenting--but there's a certain freedom in not buzzing around every second of every minute of every hour.....*you know the drill!*

I don't really like the word lazy--I prefer, "scheduled down-time!" I don't know if it's a mother thing or a gender issue; but like you, l-a-z-y doesn't fall within my definition of adulthood! However, after this week, I think I will elevate it to it's proper position! The tension in my lower back has disappeared! My shoulders have dropped to their rightful place, no longer touching my ear lobes! I no longer snap orders everytime someone enters the room I am in. I think my family likes l-a-z-y!

As a stay at home mom, I never seemed to schedule down time. In fact, like most SAHM's, I didn't even take a lunch break. That is until several years ago when I decided to eat lunch and take an hour, an entire hour, to sit and do something I wanted to do. It took practice--I was tempted to fold the clothes in the dryer the second the timer went off, I shook as I delayed cleaning the counter tops and loading the dishwasher when I noticed, while reading the newspaper, the left-over crusty breakfast cereal that had dried on the counter top. I anxiously read my book--having to re-read every other paragraph, because my mind was really on the list of things to be done before the end of the day arrived! Soon, however, with practice, I looked forward to my hour in the middle of the day-of scheduled down time. Every salaried employee looks forward to their lunch break--why can't SAHM's?

It's really not about being l-a-z-y; it's about effective time management. Prioritizing down time is a healthy thing! Alone time, even for mom's, is a very important thing; after all....when does a mom of preschoolers even go to the bathroom alone! While my 14 year old no longer joins me in the bathroom (yes, ladies, your preschoolers will one day think it gross that you even go to the bathroom!), I have discovered that we must practice these healthy attributes along the way. As our children grow up and we are left with.....are you ready for this......our self!

So, for today, and all my soon to be tomorrows, I will daily practice L-A-Z-Y! Maybe it's just the hot summer days of July, maybe it's just a mid-life weariness, maybe it's that I'm not at home and have been drawn into the pace of lake living! Whatever the cause, I am thrilled to pay tribute to the value of effective time management and the importance of down-time. Who am I kidding....let's applaud the lazy, hazy days of summer! Let's learn from them; let's join together and give ourselves a break! Take a deep breath; and treat yourself to a moment of lazy! What does that look like to you? Do you feel guilt about the possibility? Or do you already know what you will do? A long, luxurious, bubble bath? Maybe a short, uninterrupted nap? What does it look like to you when you think about down-time? Remember, there's only one rule for lazy: it must be about YOU!

I hope your weekend is full of great moments of family, fun, and fellowship--but reserve a few moments for LAZY!