The Temptation of Sloth

Dearest Rachel –

I realize that, given the fact that I’m fighting the remnants of both jet lag and a cold, I might be forgiven for falling behind in my self-imposed efforts to contact you every day (especially given that, by constantly failing asleep, there’s rather little about the day to relate to you in the first place). However, there’s a part of me that argues that that’s a topic of discussion to build on in the first place.  And given that it’s gotten so late in the day, I might as well take that reality and build on it, before I fall victim yet again to the temptation of sloth. 

I mean, I did get started on a separate letter, but once Daniel was awake, it seemed more appropriate to spend time with him, even if that meant not getting any tasks done. Which wasn’t exactly a true description of the day; while I didn’t go in to the office, I had already informed mom and dad of my plans to stay home and burn through the last of the certificates I’d received from my supermarket credit card that were due to expire today. And when I suggested to Daniel of picking up various provisions at said supermarket – as well as getting a breakfast that I had been longing for throughout much of the trip, since for some reason, they couldn’t do a chorizo con huevos burrito on there to save their lives – he was more than happy to go along with me on this errand, especially considering that he didn’t have any idea, specifically, what he wanted from the local Mexican place I’d planned on visiting, and would have to choose once he was there and could peruse the menu in person.

All of which did rather kick the slats out of any other plans that I had for the day – it did cross my mind, for instance, to visit the local fitness center just a couple blocks down from the house, and since up for a coming years membership, regardless of whether I decided to work out today, specifically – because, once the two of us got home with our food, both prepared and to be prepared, we would settle in for our late breakfast, switch on the television set, and watch videos for the rest of the day, as we had three months’ worth to catch up with for several of our favorite channels.

What’s particularly curious is that it was Daniel who fell asleep first. Maybe it’s the fact that he was the one sitting atop my bed – the television in the family room was apparently struck by a power surge during my absence, and as such, is not working anymore. The boys had at the time some discussions about what to do about the situation, and Daniel decided to hold off on any final decision until I returned home, thinking (incorrectly, as it so happened) that I would prefer to have it repaired as opposed to replaced, and so there is no functional screen in the dining/family room at the moment. So we were watching things in the bedroom, which, as you’ll recall, offers quite the temptation to do exactly what he did. There’s also the fact that, the past few days since returning home, he’s already been up when I’ve awoken, believe it or not. I know he’s stayed up long past my own abilities – you trained him well, honey – so maybe that was catching up with him.

While he was nodded off, I did try to do a little work, but I didn’t get a lot of inspiration (let alone get anything committed to virtual paper) before he woke up. And once he was up, we went right back to what we had been doing (which is to say, nothing other than watching videos together), to the detriment of getting anything else done. Now, to be fair, apart from this letter, it’s not as if I have anything pressing that’s demanded of me on any given day, and certainly not today, in particular. But it does gnaw at a certain corner of my mind; that little superego that insists on some measure of productivity be squeezed out of every single day.

But something else was also gnawing at the back of my mind; watching Daniel fall asleep made me consider that, for all the time I’ve spent like that recently, I could still stand a little more. Shortly after he awoke, and we were back to watching stuff together, I felt a certain lethargy creeping up on me, which was particularly inconvenient, as he’d suggested meeting Kerstin for dinner at a local Korean place that had opened up on the north side of town (and at which he’d won free meals every week for a year as part of their grand opening festivities; all of which I realize is hardly my story to tell, especially since I wasn’t there to witness it, but if I don’t make note of it here and now, you’ll probably never hear about it). At the same time, I was still full from our late breakfast, and hadn’t expended a whole lot of energy otherwise, so I decided to beg off. I gave him the keys to the car – he’s managed it well enough over the last three months, after all – and wished him well, before taking his place in bed and in slumber.

By the time I woke up, he was already home (although evidently, he’d stayed out until nine), and he and Logan were upstairs, watching various anime on my office computer. This distance allowed me to at least get started on this particular letter recapping what little there was of the day, rather than the topic I had originally planned – I’ll probably get to it soon enough – before Logan decided to call it a night, and the both of them realized I’d returned to consciousness, and came to check on me. I expressed my appreciation, but acknowledged that I both needed to get this done, and wasn’t intending to get inveigled into another bout of watching videos, especially with the darkness surrounding us; it’s just too easy to once again surrender to the temptation of sloth. In fact, I probably will do so as soon as I sign off with you now. But before I do, I felt it necessary to let you know that I seem to be in good hands here.

Still, if you would continue to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck, I’d certainly appreciate it. After all, I’m going to need it.