Slacker

I was a slacker on the weekend. There was so much I could have/should have been doing and did not. I was feeling… blah.

I find it hard to do anything in February, especially on the weekends. I just want to hibernate and sleep. I don’t want to go out and face the cold. I am tired and worn down from weeks of overcast skies. I feel little motivation to do anything much except… well, nothing.

And watch movies. We tend to watch a lot of movies when we get like this.

I find the only things that intrigue me are more stationary pursuits. Like this weekend, I spent hours and hours building some Sims and some houses for them to send along to my niece. I did some knitting. I cleaned up some files on my computer. And I watched many hours of volleyball (which, admittedly, is part of what I do for my other writing jobs, so technically it’s not really slacking off. But I WAS curled up in a corner of the sofa. You be the judge.)

Anything that meant I could just sit like a bump on a log for a while.

I think I am simply one of those typical Canadians who gets a mild case of SAD each winter. I feel a little lethargic. My mood tends to be a little down. I start feeling bushed by the dog days of February. And then March comes along and the sun peeks through and the temperature climbs, and I’m itching to get back outside and get moving again.

So it’s a matter of getting through the winter and waiting for those first hints of spring.

I envy those people who enjoy the winter and have no trouble getting out and doing stuff. I’m not one of those people. A big thing for me has been the commitment to shovelling the driveway this year. It’s more outdoor time than I am used to spending.

I’m sure that if we ever have kids things will be different. Kids can provide instant motivation for mobility — often because being cooped up for endless days with a restless child is like one of Dante’s levels of hell. I can plan swimming lessons and build snowmen and that sort of thing to get out and about in the winter. I did that when my niece was small and it wasn’t too bad. (And the cheap-o in me can justify spending the money on swimming lessons or other diversions for a child, as opposed to spending the money on myself.)

But for the time being, I am a slacker. Although now that it is Monday again, there’s little time for slacking. There’s too much to be done after a weekend of being curled up on the sofa.