Saturday, December 08, 2007

the gift of nothing.

Because tomorrow is my birthday, I've decided to give myself the best gift possible: the gift of nothing (no, not the book--although it is good). That is, the gift of DO nothing. I have a full day planned of:
  • staying in my pajamas until at least noon
  • enjoying my first cup of coffee buried under a warm pile of blankets and cats and a dog
  • lighting a fire in the fire place
  • eating lots of fruit or nachos or whatever I want
  • lounging around on the couch for hours on end
  • reading books and magazines and watching really stupid tv
  • going out for either a late brunch or maybe dinner with my husband
  • spending as much time as I'd like in the aisles of a book store
  • a nice long bout of journal writing
  • and a whole lot of n o t h i n g ...oh, wondrous NOTHING!
This, I'm finding, is a very difficult thing for me to do. But in order to evade the temptation of productivity (the doom of any and all relaxation), there are rules to my do-nothing day. They are:
  • I may NOT feel guilty about doing nothing
  • I may NOT feel like I should do something because it needs to get done
  • I may NOT cook, clean, or run errands
  • I may NOT use my time wisely in any way
  • I may NOT do anything work, thesis, work, or other work related
  • I may NOT worry about what time it is
  • And, once again (because I'm a slow learner), I may NOT feel guilty about doing nothing.
...but I suppose that I should clarify that by "nothing," what I really mean is ANYTHING! Tomorrow I get to do anything I want, but the thing I really want to do the most is enjoy a nice sized dose of nothin' at all.

Want to join me? I cordially invite you to lavish yourself with complete laziness and absolute comfort. Oh, sweet Sunday birthdays! Lazy, lazy, wonderful Sunday.... ;)

19 comments:

Unknown said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
I am thinking of you and wishing you a splendid day!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday from the Netherlands!

Unknown said...

happy birthday darling girl! today is my dad's birthday too, so i'll be spending time with him. i hope your day of nothing is everything you want and more. xoxo

Anonymous said...

ha! i was signed into a different account, the bluetreegoogle is me! :-)
-leah (http://www.creativeeveryday.com)

jena strong said...

I came here via Bohemian Mom via Reconstruct This.. playing connect the dots with blogging these days. Anyway, I thought I'd wish you a beautiful birthday. I love your lists!

xo

Anonymous said...

happy birthday, jessie!!! i hope your day is full of absolute bliss!!!

Loralee Choate said...

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET JESSIE!

P.S.
I wish I had more guilt over my staggering ability to do nothing.

I have a fierce streak of lazy in me.

Sigh...

kj said...

jessie, happy birthday. let it be quite a wonderful year...

jb and i are hobbling pre and post knee surgery. my mom is here with a walker. so yesterday a half dozen of our friends arrived with a full course pot-luck, put up and decorated our tree, made wreaths, and decorated our house for christmas.

jb and i mostly sat in wonder and gratitude. that is one of the best nothings i've had in a long time.

:)

Anonymous said...

what a juicy list. i'm going to celebrate your birthday by doing the first 4 items.

here's to you, girl!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!

A day of doing nothing or anything sounds like a perfect birthday gift!

caroline : my pocket said...

Happy Birthday! Excellent idea - you go girl! It's not easy to do nothing, I'm with you there. Enjoy it, you deserve it completely! :) Wishing you joy and small delights for your day

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Enjoy the nothing....

Unknown said...

I hope that you are having a wonderful birthday. This to me is the PERFECT gift to give yourself. I hope that you are guilt free and allow yourself one of these days soon again!

Endment said...

May your day be filled with joy and satisfaction
Happy Happy Birthday

gkgirl said...

happy birthday
and wishing you the best
of relaxation and taking it easy!
:)

Anonymous said...

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you so much, and I'm so grateful for your birth! Hooray!

Sending a letter with my new address and phone soon!

Olivia said...

Dear Jessie,

That sounds like the bestest birthday gift of all...I hope that you had a FANTASTIC day today doing nothing...

Happy Birthday, and Wishes for a Wonderful Year,

Much Love,

O

Anonymous said...

happy birthday, my lovely girl.

i hope you had a fabulous day. i love you!

Laura B. said...

Happy birthday, Jessie! I hope you had a beautiful day.