Summertime brings back a flood of memories from my youth, namely from the good ol' days of high school and college. Swimming, eating popsicles, listening to music, laughing about dumb things, going on rambling walks through the canyon, or UP the canyon if we felt so inclined. (Ha ha... just caught that pun. Sorry for that.)
Some of my most cherished memories are those moments that were seemingly uneventful, but ever-so-significant - those small moments of time where a friend and I just sat in the sun eating a popsicle and talking while listening to Tom Petty songs. I have very fond memories of doing nothing. And, I think my best friendships were built upon those moments. Those moments of driving aimlessly in the car because everything was closed for the night and we just weren't ready to go home, or sitting next to the lake after an evening of cliff-jumping just to watch the sun go down. I kind of miss the freedom to just do absolutely nothing. Because nothing was really quite something! 90% of the time I was working or studying or accomplishing something, and then I truly felt alive when I would finally just STOP and breathe and take in life all around me by doing nothing. You should try it some time. It's fabulous!
I was thinking about it today as I watched my children eat popsicles and splash in the kiddie pool at our neighborhood health club. My first inclination was to tell them to hurry and finish up so we could go home. But, then I stopped myself. Why hurry? We're always rushing to the next thing, we're always doing something. Why not just stop for a moment and just be? I smiled and thought to myself, "I want to make sure they have as many of those playful, meandering moments in their childhood as possible." Life will always be so rushed and so busy. I want to teach them the art of enjoying life, so they can appreciate the beauty and the friendships around them in those very significant moments suspended in time.
Because, after all is said and done, I regret the moments where I didn't just sit and enjoy everything around me more.
In the midst of our busy, chaotic schedules, my husband and I never even get to finish a sentence when talking to each other. There's always a pager going off, or a kid making a demand, um, I mean... request, or a timer going off on the oven. There have been way too many instances of having to stop mid-sentence and hollering over our shoulders, "I'll finish telling you later!..." as life drags us off in separate directions. Even in the midst of typing this blog post, ironically enough, Jordan called from work and the kids kept interrupting as I tried to have a conversation with him. I asked him what he thought of having a night of eating sushi and relaxing and having fun and not planning anything... just doing nothing. He was all for it for five whole seconds before he was told he had to rush over to assist on a surgery. Doing nothing will have to wait. But, I tell you what, all these years of being students and going through a long surgical residency makes me want to move to a little cabin on the lake in a small town and just truly enjoy life once and for all. Last summer in Maine was bliss. I want that lifestyle. And why not? Who can tell us we can't do that?!
I miss my husband. So, enough is enough. I'm planning a date with my husband where nothing is planned. We just go do nothing together and see where it takes us. I'm unsure of how it will go... one or both of us always tries to be productive... But, no, we will fight that urge and just be lazy and free and enjoy doing nothing for once!
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