What is lazy anyway?

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In the past year and a half, we have been consumed with stuff we MUST do — buy a house, sell a house, move, fix the dang house, buy stuff, get rid of stuff, etc.. It has kept us busy along with managing to stay healthy during a pandemic. We’re in a bit of a lull now. Some things are done. Some are in progress waiting for the next step. Some didn’t start yet. We have time.

It feels guilty to not do something substantial. No, not like solve world hunger or peace (wish I could!), but something you can check off. You know what I mean. You have that master list and you like checking stuff off. Makes you feel warm inside (or maybe that’s heartburn).

The beloved husband announced yesterday that he feels lazy. He doesn’t understand the true meaning of the word. He is not lazy even if he is catching up on Blue Bloods. He’s always tinkering or online with his guitar buddies talking music stuff. I’ve never seen him lounge on the sofa with his mouth hanging open, all orange from Doritos and a dumb look on his face. (That’s my interpretation of lazy.)

This need for constant accomplishment is the result of many years of working and fitting in what you want to do with what you have to do. It’s years of running a series of errands so you don’t retrace your steps. Retirement doesn’t wipe out years of training. At this point, it’s engrained.

We may move slower and set our sights lower, but we still do them.

I’m not complaining. Those accomplishments, tiny though they may be, give fulfillment. They are followed by a treat, like a mocha or a dinner out (which we would do anyway).  

Today we will celebrate the beloved husband’s lazy day with a toast, good food, some TV and an early night. That’s always our favorite.

52 thoughts on “What is lazy anyway?”

  1. All in for “lazy”!
    Yes to master lists and yes to accomplishing something each day to unify your existence. (It is a hard habit to break…but those who list and accomplish even a little each day care probably healthier, more mentally energized, and happier …bound to be research on that HaHA)
    Cheers and yea to meandering through the day

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  2. I take frequent mental health days. Someone else might call them lazy, but I like to remind myself that I’ve worked hard my entire life and I have earned the benefit of doing “nothing” whenever I can figure out how to fit one of those days in! I like the way your husband thinks!

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  3. I kept telling you during those months of packing/unpacking a year ago, sooner or later you could be toes up in an easy chair and hassock … you sure deserve it. It wasn’t bad enough your big move in a pandemic, but the aftermath (needing a new car, new phone, new computer) – where does it end except putting a few new gray hairs on your head.

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  4. It doesn’t seem a lot different than when we ‘worked’ outside the home. There were days of shuffling paperwork and there were days of travel. Now, it is which book, pattern, or plant do I want to work on. I would also be found with the hot compress on my dry and irritated eyes and just maybe would have nodded off for 15-20 minutes. It’s senior living.

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    • I have some notable differences. I don’t dress up….ever! I’m happy being home. When I worked I was more social. My eyes weren’t near as bad but that’s age more than anything else. Still shuffling paperwork though although I rarely write a check thanks to on-line services.

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  5. I was going to leave a comment yesterday, but I was “too lazy”. I have some medical issues that tend to steal my energy throughout the day, so I am committed to what I call “rest periods” where I just sit with my eyes closed for 15-20 minutes and do nothing physical. And to be honest, I don’t really care if anyone calls me lazy – I’ve earned the right to be so!

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    • Absolutely! We are harder on ourselves. I have what I call “bad eye” days when my dry eye is so irritated that I’m really uncomfortable. I have to do warm compresses which always put me to sleep. It is what it is.

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  6. I feel like you’re still parents to wonderful and sassy kids. I’m sure if you say you need things to do, they will step up and give it to you!!!! Relax and enjoy well-earned peace and quiet. It might just be a small break before something happens so try to rest up and enjoy it! I’m a pessimist at heart. Sorry.

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  10. I have one of those to-do lists. Sometimes I just check stuff off because I get tired of looking at it. To me, retirement is a reward for working and having to check off things on a list I didn’t make.

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  11. What Pam said! I have no problem letting my sloth self come out. I was exhausted by the time we sold two houses and moved into a new house and “fixed the dang house” during a pandemic. Love your idea of celebrating a lazy day! I am so happy you feel like you can be a bit lazy.

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  12. My mom was someone who couldn’t sit still. She always had to be doing something, particularly cleaning something. She was also an artist but struggled her whole life to take the time to sit with her art – unless she was painting something as a gift, then sometimes she would view that as taking care of someone else and find the time to enjoy her art. It was sad in many ways. She loved to read but could only find a little time at night to read. If she was watching TV she couldn’t just enjoy a program, she had to be knitting. But to be fair, she seemed to enjoy knitting and made some things for herself, not only for others.

    I am not my mom. As a child I could be found hiding somewhere that I could read and avoid all those must do chores my mom found for me. Often, up in a tree where it was not obvious to look for me. As an adult, i learned the value of putting things away so that cleaning was much simplified although that dang counter in the kitchen manages to get cluttered. I am stealing your concept as I have definitely embraced the sloth in me. I get things done, just slowly. I hate the anxiety that comes with moving and the feeling that I must constantly be shoving something in a box or cleaning something else. I intend to die in this house and let someone else deal with it.

    Enjoy your slothness. Give yourself the gift of time.

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  13. I’m very used to non-busy days – so much so that when I happen to have a busy day I DREAD it the night before. That same feeling I remember from school the night before a test! Anyway, we’ve been retired for MANY years and are used to more lazy days than busy and it took us quite a long time to get out of the “work mania” stage. It’s nice moving at a slower pace…..or falling asleep in my recliner while reading!

    Hugs, Pam

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  17. I totally relate to your husband’s feelings, Kate. My genetic make-up is to get things done. I’m sure I inherited it from my Mamaw. I don’t want anything on my “list” at the end of the day, so I’m constantly checking things off. This is what makes me happy…to be productive. The more I have on my plate the more I can get done, so I like a full load. Some people are happy watching Netflix for hours and that’s fine, do what you enjoy…it’s your life! Now pass those Doritos!

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  19. If there’s one thing the pandemic has done for me it is that I am no longer concerned with being busy. I feel no guilt. I am happy to live like a sloth. Sloths accomplish things, just slowly. Enjoy your day.

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  21. I’m so used to being on the go and planning for the next thing that I feel guilty when the kid is in school and I just sit on the patio with a cup of coffee. There are ingrained, capitalistic voices in my head chide me for being lazy. “Make dinner!” “Send those emails!” “Write that story!” “Got to the store.”

    I can tell them to shut up, but they’ll mutter in the background until I get up.

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  22. We have been busier than I’d hoped in our semi-retirement. I think that’s mostly the result of a lot of pent up demand to travel, hence lots of pet sitting. But I love having days (which I didn’t have for 14 years) where there’s nothing much on the to do list, like today. A little pet therapy visit, make some lentil soup, be a slug. We never had these kinds of days in the past, and I’m glad to have at least a nice chunk of them now.

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