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Whatever Happened to Those Lazy Days of Summer?
August 8, 2008
According to my calculations, summer is half over. I am not
quite sure how this came about but the calendar has never
lied to me before. It has confused me and taunted me but it
has never lied to me.
Looking at my calendar I can see no lazy days of summer
noted anywhere in the foreseeable future. I am not sure if
this is an oversight on my part and that I should have at
least penciled in one lazy day of summer or if those lazy
days of summer are a thing of the past. I sure hope it's
not the latter.
I can hardly imagine a world without any lazy days of
summer. It just would not be summer in my opinion.
This probably is the price people pay for getting old. When
I was young most of my summer was filled with lazy days
where I practiced the fine art of doing nothing. Oh how I
yearn for the return of those good old days of yesteryear.
Someone once told me, "Sonny, don’t ever grow old." At the
time, I did not know what he meant. I assumed he was
referring to his loss of hair or arthritis in his joints or
forgetting things. I thought that was what it meant to grow
old. He meant nothing of the sort.
Now that I am old, I understand exactly what he was
warning. There is no doubt in my mind; he was bemoaning the
fact that his lazy days were gone. Perhaps, he was envious
of the fact that at the time I had loads and loads of lazy
days on my hands. I did not know just how rich I was.
Now I do, but it’s too late. Where have all those lazy days
gone?
I was whining about this to the Gracious Mistress of the
Parsonage hoping to get some empathy at least. And usually
it is the least thing I get from her. Instead of
sympathizing with me, all she did was look at me and say in
that tone of voice that I know so well, "You just want an
excuse to do nothing."
To which I replied most sharply, "I don't need an excuse to
do nothing, all I need is an opportunity."
Thinking about what I said I discovered there was more
wisdom in that one sentence than anything else I have ever
said. I had to sit in the corner for a few moments
recovering from the shock of saying something with wisdom
in it. I probably say many things with wisdom in it without
even thinking. In fact, I am good at saying many things
without thinking.
Although I may not be good at a wide variety of things, I
have mastered the art of doing nothing. I can do nothing
better than I can do anything. Of course, I do not have too
many opportunities to do anything; I have more
opportunities to do nothing. If I had my choice, I would
rather do nothing than anything.
My philosophy is simply this, why be good at nothing and
not put it to good use?
I have invested a lot of time and energy into doing nothing
and I am concerned that not having an opportunity to do
nothing I might forget the finesse associated with that
art.
I do not get a chance very often to do nothing so I am
anxious to practice the skills associated with nothing. And
in this regard, my calendar has not been very cooperative.
Where are those lazy days of summer where I can do nothing?
Not only has my calendar not been cooperative but also my
wife has been the epitome of obstruction in this pursuit of
mine. Just when I think a lazy day is looming on the
horizon she comes up with something for me to do. Even
though all I wanted to do was nothing, she insists that I
do her something. Either I do her something or else. I do
not want to do her or else for nothing.
Those lazy days of summer were the perfect opportunity to
perfect the fine art of doing nothing. Regretfully I have
to honestly face the fact that those times are far behind
me. No more lazy days of summer for me. At least not as
many as there used to be.
The old preacher in Ecclesiastes was right when he said,
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every
purpose under the heaven:" (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV).
I can look back with a sense of satisfaction and know that
when I did have those lazy days of summer I put them to
good use and developed skill in doing nothing. I know
before me are some days when I will not have the strength
or energy to do anything, then my ability to do nothing
will come in good use.
I think it is quite important to live in the time at hand.
The apostle Paul understood this when he wrote, "And that,
knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of
sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed." (Romans 13:11 KJV).
Now that I am older, (and who's to say how much older I
will get) I can say with a good deal of expertise, never
grow old. By that I mean, never forget those lazy days of
summer.
Whatever Happened to Those Lazy Days of Summer?
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