Have you ever awoken and the only thing
you wanted to do was nothing? Without even opening my eyes, I roll over, pull
the covers a bit snugger, and embrace the comfort of my memory foam mattress
amid the silence of the early morning.
As a young couple, Bob and I used to
snuggle up or spoon when the alarm went off and ask one another that question.
Oh how tempting it was to give a resolute yes and cancel the day but alas, we
were barely scraping by and needing his daily wage to make ends meet . . . or
at least wave at each other. Our young children would soon be up and energized.
With nearly inaudible groans and huge
sighs we hugged once more, shared a morning breath kiss and reluctantly slid
out from under the covers. Our chance to cancel the day was gone like the
spores on a mature dandelion in the wind.
During those early years while he
performed back breaking labors away from home, I did the same at home. Perhaps
we’ve always had survivalist and homesteading natures because our gardens, home
improvements, landscaping projects and so much more steadily increased with
each passing year.
We taught our children to work. They
worked in the garden and the harvest. They were primarily responsible for
planting a big patch of early corn that they harvested and we sold to purchase
their school clothes each summer. Our home was heated with wood so there were
always chores to be done. We raised chickens, ducks, geese, a pet goat and dog.
With zero hesitation I can honestly say
those were the best years of our lives. Our children learned about work,
responsibility, accountability and teamwork. They learned about nature and nurture.
We all enjoyed the fruits of our labors.
Once they flew the coop and we had an
empty nest, we still frequently greeted the new day with, “Let’s just cancel
today.” We continued to agree and it was so very tempting but we pressed on. In
retrospect it is with regret that we didn’t allow an occasional ‘cancellation’
to happen. Life is short—too short.
Now in the midst of our December years we
still ask that question and you know what? Sometimes we say “Yes! Let’s do it!”
finally.
Different seasons of life require
different priorities. In our current season, with the fragility of health
issues and frailty of bodies, we can cancel a day and sometimes more than one
and you know what? It’s okay. The earth doesn’t stop revolving around the sun.
The dust collects but a wise, old friend once told me, “Mary, if you only dust
every six weeks, it looks just as good as if you had done it every single day.”
She was right and a valuable lesson was learned.
It’s been an incredible and enlightening
journey from Immaculate Irma (spotless housekeeping) to Lazy Lou (they will
understand and not judge). Currently it is necessary to hire help for heavy
cleaning and the rest gets done when it gets done. After all, I’ve never seen a
tombstone engraved with, “Her house sparkled” or “You could eat off her
floors”.
Sometimes I have canceled only part of the
day. Once retired it’s all right to sleep in later if you stayed up later, to
eat brunch at eleven rather than breakfast at seven and cut back on your
labors. This is the time to do all those things there was never enough time to
do while working. So do it. Take that trip. Write that book. Cross items off
your Bucket List. There are no guarantees so embrace each day enjoy each moment
more than ever. Live in the moment, cherish memories rather than things.
Reduce the amount of STUFF in your life.
Often I have felt as if I were stufficating
so get rid of things that require more work than pleasure. Many of my cherished
collections have and are still disappearing leaving more time for what I enjoy
most and opening the door to Cancelling the Day. Who’s with me?
