Lazy Mama

Even in a mother's laziness, there is no rest.  As the holiday of Sukkot fast approaches, I find myself contemplating my most favorite theme of this harvest holiday.  Going back to basics. Sukkot, to me, is almost an extension of Shabbat - Shabbat one step deeper.  Not only do we turn off all that keeps us attached to the physical world (our cell phones, computers, ovens, cars, etc.) - but we leave our homes and enter the simplicity of living in a booth. It doesn't matter how extravagant our decorations nor how sparkly our lights, we all sit in the sukkah with three walls and a ceiling of skach that allows us to view the stars when we look up.

Sukkot beckons us to focus on the things in life that hold the utmost importance. It is our faith and our tradition that propel us to shake the lulav and the etrog - an action that holds no meaning whatsoever outside of this holiday. We spend time with friends and family, sharing meals and engaged in discussions about the gifts our ancestors left us with and how we can continue to make the world a better place for those who will come after us.

We return to basics. We overflow with gratitude for the roof over our heads, for the food we have to eat, for the family and community that surround us.  We don't have to spend our days running errands, cleaning up after children (ok - maybe we do ), making phone calls, arranging for house repairs....

We slow down. We pay attention. We realize how many extras we have.

I feel like I have been in a sukkah for the past month (though I've been without the mosquitos that seem to be inhabiting our sukkah this year). I have been inside - my house and my mind - and I have not ventured out too often. I have done only what I have had to do and have avoided being in my car, having long conversations, standing for too long, sitting much at all, and all the little extras that typically inhabit a mom's life.

I have "chosen" to be a lazy mom for the past month. And, still, I find that my days are jam packed. The hours still disappear before I am ready for them to go. I don't know how I do it - when I'm doing it all.

I am looking forward to shutting down the email and ignoring the Facebook because - you see - in my 'laziness', I have acquired a habit of looking and checking every time I am icing my leg and my back. It's better than a dose of motrin and helps to take my mind off the pain that has consumed me. And, perhaps, what keeps me so busy in my laziness.

The world continues to spin.
The years repeat themselves.
The holidays always bring something new to our attention.
When we live with open eyes, we see the cycles, the paradoxes, the constant movement.
When we sit still, it all becomes present before us.


And, now, I must go guide my children as they hang the last of the sukkah decorations.