The Luxuriousness of a Lazy Day

I’m standing in the elevator, waiting for it to reach our floor. My foot taps an impatient rhythm as my arms hold my daughter, Zoey. She is beyond upset that we have just said goodbye to my mom—her beloved Grammy Sue—so she is loudly, and messily, sobbing into my shoulder, her cries reverberating in my ears. Her wet tears, the ones trickling down my skin, are the closest thing I’ve come to a shower this morning.

The elevator opens, and I walk into the hall toward our apartment. As Zoey’s tears slowly subside, she begins to feel heavier in my arms: I can tell she’s simply worn out. After we’re in the comfort of our home, I set Zoey down and she plods slowly toward the living room, her shoulders lower than usual. As I watch her walk away, I see raindrops start to splatter against the windows, and in that moment, I feel my own tiredness settle in.

This past month has been a total whirlwind for us. Between summer vacation, Zoey’s birthday, multiple visits from my parents, summer camp, and a busy work schedule—as always—for me, our normal routine has been completely uprooted.

Although we’ve had a fun summer, the haphazardness of our days has made it feel like we needed a little bit of a reset.

I point to the window as I sit on the couch. “Look, Zoey. It’s raining.” She climbs up next to me and cuddles up close.

“I think I know what we need to do the rest of the day,” I say into the crown of her head.

Zoey leans back and looks at me, her sad eyes searching. “What?” she asks.

“Well,” I say, “I think we should just be lazy.”

And suddenly, just like that, Zoey’s sad eyes turn happy, and her radiant smile returns.

Do you remember when we were kids? When summers were long and lazy and didn’t seem to be over in the blink of an eye? When the days didn’t feel overwhelming because we weren’t overworked, over-scheduled, and overtired? How can we get some of those peaceful, easy feelings of childhood back?

I think we all need to think about embracing the lovely luxury of a lazy day.

• * *

As I type this, I’m curled up in my corner of the couch, watching those raindrops trickle down the window and drinking a cup of my favorite tea. On the other end, Zoey has made herself a cozy little nook, surrounded by some of her favorite things: stuffed animals, books, paper, stickers, and a bag of potato chips (hey, lazy days need lazy snacks, too…). We are dressed in our comfiest clothes, and we have a pile of pillows to lean against and a couple of blankets to wrap ourselves up in when the air conditioning gets too cold. Every once in a while, one of us will break the silence when we say something to the other or lean over to steal a kiss or grab a hug, but for the most part, we’re enjoying the peaceful quiet that surrounds us.

Dishes fill the sink, Zoey’s bed is still unmade, and the apartment needs some serious picking up. But I’ve decided I’m not going to feel guilty about the mess. Since there’s nothing else that I actually need to be doing right now, I’ve decided that I’m just going to enjoy this down time, time where I can hit that much needed reset button, time that feels downright decadent.

From how relaxed I feel in these moments, I can tell that a lazy day to recharge was something I desperately needed, and from how happy I can tell this is making Zoey, I know she needed it, too.

“What are we going to do tonight, Mommy?” Zoey’s little voice breaks the silence between us.

“What would you like to do, Z?” I ask, happy to give her the power to make our evening plans.

“Well…,” she slowly says, “I was thinking we could keep doing more of this.” Her face is relaxed, happy, and hopeful as she sweeps her arms to indicate that she is exactly where she’d like to be the rest of the night, doing exactly what she’s doing right now.

“I think this is the perfect plan,” I agree, leaning in to take this opportunity to tickle her. She starts giggling, and as I start tickling her harder, with her squeals of laughter reverberating in my ears, I think to myself:

This is the best idea we’ve had in a very long time.

Corey Wheeland is a writer, graphic designer, and marketing professional. Her blog is The Nostalgia Diaries, and her writing has appeared on Red Tricycle and Perfection Pending.