5.04.2008

American Idle


Moving right along here...let's talk about the sin I'm second most guilty of-SLOTH. The Webster's dictionary definition of sloth is "Disinclination to action or labor, sluggishness, laziness, idleness."

If we were to go by that definition, I am in fact, not sloth like. I love to play tennis, blog, run around town doing errands, arrange flowers, cut the grass and volunteer for various school activities. I would say my sin is SELECTIVE SLOTH.

There are certain duties that take every ounce of my energy and discipline to complete. One example is finishing laundry, I have no problem washing clothes and getting them into the dryer, folding them is a little harder, but I usually manage to get it done. It's PUTTING THE LAUNDRY AWAY that I suck at. I just can't seem to finish the job. It's a curse.

Another example of this is mailing birthday cards. I call people on their birthdays and when I see them I always have a gift that I put a great deal of thought into. For some reason I just can't get my sh--t together enough to buy a card, write a note in it, look up the address, write it, put a stamp on it, and mail it.

There are countless examples of this SELECTIVE SLOTH in my life. Much to my husband's chagrin. The biggest thorn in his side are 3 large Rubbermaid containers in our bedroom, full of clothing he wants me to sort through. As much as I'd like to just toss them, I'm afraid there might be something worth keeping in them, so there they sit, untouched and my husband is ready to flip his lid. I tell him to practice the art of meditation and inner peace. That when he sees these containers he should recite the Serenity Prayer,

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

And he can add these lines:

When I married my wife,
I knew she was not organized,
nor was she a great housekeeper.
Thank you oh Lord,
for the great strides she has made
in our ten years of marriage.
May she continue on her quest
for order and cleanliness
and someday, if it be your will,
may she clean out these Rubbermaid containers
and remove them from our marital chamber

AMEN


Luckily I do manage to do the important stuff like feeding and bathing my children, keeping them and myself, healthy, making sure they they get to school everyday and that they learn how to be productive members of society.

So I won't be too hard on myself, after all, in the words of the Queen of Sloth, Roseanne,
"There's alot more to being a woman than being a mother, but there's a hell of alot more to being a mother than people suspect."


Amen to that sister.


15 comments:

Melissa said...

I have the laundry curse as well. There is a huge load of clothes sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded and put away right now...

ShelbyAnne said...

Funny you should choose to write about sloth on the Lord's day of rest. Or, as I fondly refer to it, The Day of Lazy. I swear you peg me EVERY DAY, lol.

Anonymous said...

What is the mental block with putting it away? I can knock out 12 loads with ease but putting it away..gah..I would rather give it away and start all over.

Katie Ryan said...

ok. There's just something about putting that laundry away. I can't do it either. Our house is for sale, and whenever somebody calls to show it, I throw loads of clean laundry in the trunk of my car because I haven't put it away yet.

Caroline C. Bingham said...

ooh, there's a problem I have. selective sloth...

Kori said...

Selctive Sloth: I LOVE that! Describes me as well. And am with you on the laundry thing. That is really whay I keep having kids, so I never have to fold or put away laundry again, at least for the enxt 16 years. At which point I will no longer DO laundry, because surely by then I will be rich enough to hire someone to do it. Yeah.

Heather J. said...

The quote from Roseanne made me burst into tears.

I suspect I might need medication.

Very nice extension to the Serenity Prayer.

WSU Laura said...

Selective Sloth is a perfect description. I can relate to the laundry thing. In fact I have 3 large baskets full of clean folded laundry ready to be put away. I also am lazy when it comes to cleaning up after cooking. Hey I cooked someone else can clean it up....right???

CashmereLibrarian said...

I said I was not slothful on my original comment but I take it back. I'm at work but I haven't done a damn productive thing yet today plus I took a long lunch (in my defense I didn't mean to--I went to pick up my shoes at the cobbler's and I couldn't escape--he was on a diatribe about fast food in America [he's Russian]).
Anyway, I just looked up "sloth" in the dictionary and it said 'aversion to work." Yup.

The Mrs. said...

Amen indeed! I too have selective sloth...I am loving this term because it's so right on. I am on the ball about sending cards, and arriving on time, but try to get me to clean out my sons closet and store old clothes, or clean off my desk and forget it. My desk looks like a tornado hit it!

MarĂ­a said...

I'm just good ol' sloth.

Melly said...

I'm going to have my husband read this post right away so he knows that I'm not such an oddity when it comes to those housewifery duties. I can so relate!!

Anonymous said...

Seriously - I could have written this post. I too have the plethora of rubbermaid bins filling the attic, garage, and each and every bedroom closet. I am hoping to get through them before the move. Yeah. That'll happen.

I'm going to print out that little addendum to the serenity prayer for DH - change the 10 years to six and it is perfect.

Off to Target to buy more laundry baskets and rubbermaid bins!

LunaNik said...

Selective sloth...what a great term! Unfortunately these days I seem to be just a great big pile of slothful poo.

Ok...

So I'm not THAT bad, but seriously, I could use some motivation...or red bull ;)

Amy said...

Why is it so hard to finish the laundry? You can only imagine what my coffee table looks like with four girls!

 
Website Content and Copy: Caffeine Court, 2007-8.|Blog Design by JudithShakes Designs.