It Takes Work to Be Lazy
Is there a way to be lazy without "shoulding" all over yourself?
Summer days have finally hit full force here in Virginia. They are slow and they ooze laziness. My body craves the sun and the water. I want to lay outside with a beautiful book that transports me. I want to laugh and splash, in countless hours of languid conversation, with the people I love.
But I have been finding that taking time out to relax and slow down, while I crave it, is hard to do. As soon as I settle on the lounge chair, sunscreen applied, my mind immediately goes to all of the “shoulds.”
‘I shouldn’t be relaxing! There is so much I should be doing!’
In teaching yoga, I remind students not to “should” all over themselves. And it seems that the lazy days of summer are the best times to do the work of this practice.
This is the time to allow the house to serve us after all of the work we put in all the other months of the year. It is the time to skip the youth sports practices if we want as games are far off on the horizon but the Canadian wildfire smoke is not.
Laziness, as we define it during the dog days of June, July, and August, is not a sin. It is not a violation of a Puritan work ethic where we maximize output for the glory.
There is a way to relax that serves our lives with intention.
I see these days as an opportunity to follow my body and my heart. Summer encourages me to enjoy my people over my production at work. Summer sweat cooled by a light summer breeze makes me want to move my body and be outside in God’s creation, where miraculous things are happening every nanosecond.
This is the time to enjoy the fruits of the labor and of the season. The right way to be “lazy” is to allow it.
Our monthly trip(s):
Mr. Family Trip and I ate, hiked, and camped our way around Iceland in June! This island nation is currently a hot spot for American travel, and we were thrilled to check it out. I was able to get our itinerary up (see more below), and we’ll be sharing more articles and posts from our time in the land of fire and ice so be sure to stay tuned.
Best things I’ve read this month:
This article on How to Treat Your Weekend Like a Vacation has been the topic of many threads in some online circles I am in. I love the idea but really don’t know how feasible it is with kids.
This article on US national parks and crowding had a lot of great nuggets of thought. (Am I the only one who hadn’t heard of “Zoom town” before?) But given my reflection after visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, over-crowding is something I sense deeply.
I read this award-winning book and it was so well written but also kind of depressing. But it was really interesting when paired with this nonfiction on the same topic.
As promised, I read this book and found it inspirational but not fully realistic for our lives (which is why I write this blog: kids + traditional life CAN = adventure even without dropping out and touring the world with a backpack).
Best thing(s) I’ve bought:
I brought this game back from my childhood home with fond memories, and the kids and I have been loving it!
I’ll also add that this game is still a hit.
Our upcoming trip(s):
This month brings some quick non-exotic weekend trips to places like the grandparents’, Wolftrap for a concert, and a regional swim meet out of town. But in August, we’re pulling Shirley Jean with us on a huge camping/road trip up north. As usual, I will post on Instagram as we go!
New on the website this month:
An 8-Day Itinerary of Iceland: The Ultimate “Best Of” Iceland
Iceland reminded me that there isn’t a “right way” or a “wrong way” to experience a country or a place. While blogs, books, TV shows, and Internet sites will give itineraries and recommended places to see, the best way to travel is to follow your own longings. There isn’t a checklist (and shouldn’t be) for visiting a new place.
Easy Ways to Love and Create More Peace In Your Life
Immediately, all three took off upstairs where I found them seconds later, searching the entire upstairs for my charm. They weren’t asked, I didn’t beg. They did it because they love me.
The Best Travel Books to Read (Including Travel Book Classics and New Releases)
Travel changes you. And the best travel writing doesn’t just tell you about what the author ate or saw or did. The best travel writing tells you how that experience changed them. The “travel” in good travel writing is both internal and external.
Articles from the Archives:
What to do with Kids in Lisbon - And Why Portugal is Trending Right Now
Things to do at Smith Mountain Lake, VA