In my lazy era

With two kids at university most of the time and the other one left home, I have well and truly entered my lazy era.

I know you’re probably thinking ‘But you run all those races, how can you be lazy?’. And I’m not lazy in that sense. I’m still very active. But I am lazy in the sense of I don’t want to do any chores, I just want to sit and read my book.

I remember how full-on it was with kids and teenagers at home. Trying to get them up every morning. Driving my son to school and picking him up every day. Constantly driving them to different activities. Worrying how I would cope when their activities clashed. Saturdays and Sundays spent on rugby and football touchlines. Endless loads of washing. Cooking meals for a mixture of vegetarians, meat eaters and very fussy eaters. Trying to time the meals for the very small window between endless after school activities…

No time for me at all. No reading. No TV. A lot less running than I do now.

And gradually, that eased off. They did less after school activities. My son passed his driving test and drove to school. The weekend sport stopped, apart from a few athletics competitions in the summer. My son went to uni, so there was less washing. My eldest started work and got himself out of bed. My daughter passed her driving test and started driving herself to dance lessons.

Then my eldest moved out and my daughter went to uni.

And suddenly there was a lot less to do.

So did I embrace mopping the floor more often and hoovering my car? Was I motivated to do the weeding? Did I dust the skirting boards?

No, I didn’t.

Because I was tired from all those years of parenting. Tired from perimenopause and menopause.

Having extra time didn’t make me want to mop the floor any more than I did when the kids were at home. All I wanted to do was read. And all I still want to do is read.

With maybe a bit of TV thrown in. You know how they say nobody dies wishing they’d watched more TV? I think I actually might die wishing I’d watched more! There are so many things I wanted to watch that I never got round to because I didn’t have the time. I still won’t be able to catch up with the TV from those years, but maybe I can stay on top of current programmes a bit more.

I’m lucky that I work part-time and rarely need to work in the afternoons. So I finish work at about 1, have my lunch and take Hetty for a walk.

Then all I want to do is read all afternoon.

But I go to the gym a couple of times a week. I actually don’t like going to the gym at all. I just do it because I know it’s important for my running and for general strength and mobility for my ageing body. But I would much rather be at home reading.

I clean Zebedee the guinea pig a couple of times a week. I might have to nip to the supermarket or the pharmacy. I might have to order birthday presents or Christmas presents online. And I still have to cook, which is somehow quite annoying only having to cook for two – especially as I still have to make a meat version and a vegetarian version of every meal.

And all I can think of is that I need to be reading. I don’t want to do any of the other stuff. I just want to read!

After all those years of full-on parenting, I’m desperately trying to let go of the last few responsibilities and just relax. I don’t care that the floor needs mopping and my car needs hoovering. I’m entering my lazy era and I’m going to spend as much time as I can with a book.