School is officially out for me! I’ve been looking forward to this time since…well, spring of 2024, to be honest. And of course, around school the conversation at this time of year is, “So…what are you doing this summer?”
My response? As LITTLE as POSSIBLE.
Ideally, I’d do more weightlifting, but my back is not cooperating. Or I’d be baking, but we’re doing a renovation. Which means that I don’t have to feel bad for being unproductive. So, to keep myself accountable for all of the nothingness I’m doing, I thought I’d offer a small sample of what a day might look like in Lainieworld right now:
5:50: Get nosed in the back by a dog (doesn’t matter which one). Send dogs outside for Doing of Business, offer treats.
5:55: Climb back into bed, scratch dog heads or butts until they lie down.
6:30: Get nosed in the back again. Tell dogs it’s not time yet.
6:42: Or yet.
6:58: OK close enough. Feed dogs, grab caffeine, shoo dogs outside for more Doing of Business, back to bed.
7:14: Read, do NYT word puzzles.
8:00: Get bored, take myself out to deck to read more and listen to birds fight with each other in the yard.
9:00: Fritter away my time on more dumb games.
10:00: Maybe read a little more.
11:00: Games? social media? Eh. It’s a coin toss.
11:45: Back to the book.
12:15: Lunch? Don’t mind if I do.
1:00: Walk the dogs.
1:45: Various Assorted Lolling Around.
3:00: Consider taking care of the laundry.
3:02: Maybe another day.
3:03: More lolling, more reading.
4:45: Interrupt general lolling for a mid-afternoon snack.
6:00: Ask family when they want dinner, only to be told they don’t care.
6:30: Have dinner prepared, only for no one to be hungry except for me.
6:31: Eat anyway.
7:00: Post-dinner stroll.
7:45: Number games, more reading.
8:30: Take my lame – but happy – self to bed.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Are there days I’m doing more? You betcha.
Will I get tired of doing nothing like this? Probably, and soon.
Do I feel guilty for wasting time? Not a lick.
This post is part of Two Writing Teachers’ Tuesday Slice of Life. Check it out!
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
Sounds like an ideal agenda. I’m definitely for “general lollling”. I could follow along except for letting our dog out. We don’t have a yard so it’s a mandatory walk, but that’s not a bad thing. Enjoy your doing of nothing or not much.
Thanks! I’ll admit I’ve had to walk the dogs more, since we’ve got construction on our house and the yard is less “ours” right now…
This is my kind of schedule. I hope you don’t fall behind on any of the events you have scheduled. At my age, I would also schedule an afternoon nap for myself.
Yes, it’s a grueling schedule but I’ll do my best to keep up. As for naps. it is really difficult for me to downshift enough to take an afternoon nap. That said, I am REALLY good about plonking down for bedtime!
rest is productive, it’s not wasted time! Enjoy it!
Agreed! And…you better believe I will!
We have two more weeks of school up here and BOY OH BOY do I want your schedule. By the time I got to “1:45: Various Assorted Lolling Around.” I laughed out loud. 1:45 is now my official summer goal. I’ll let you know when I get there 😉
Please do! We all could use a good loll(ololol) =)
I used to call these early days of summer when I want to do NOTHING, “veg” days. My own kiddos used to use the phrase back at me during the waning days of summer when THEY did not want to do anything! May you veg up – well deserved
Exactly! Although, here’s the weird thing. Absolutely every other year, the first two weeks of summer were highly productive. I was still in go-go-go mode, so I was parsing through giveaways, sorting drawers and closets, filing papers, running errands…until about July, when all my wheels fall off the bus.
This year, I’m going straight into downshift mode. Veg mode activated!
My husband is going to start teaching this next school year. I feel like he’s going to feel the same way by next summer!
I wouldn’t doubt it! Whenever people make comments about me having the summer off, I often remind them 1) of the intensity of the job from August-June, 2) that we are, indeed, only paid as 10-month employees, and 3) the hours many of us work round out to a 12-month position.
<steps off soapbox>
Good luck to him next year!