While lying awake late at night I often plan tomorrow’s day. Think about all the things I want to get done. Things that will be good for me, maybe good for Katie the dog too. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow, oh yea, lots of stuff to do! Things that have needed to get done for a long time, possibly for years. And since I’m not working I have all sorts of time to get these pesky tasks done. Right? Sounds good in the warm darkness, under the blanket, with sleep seeping around the edges of my consciousness.
But in the morning, with it’s chilly air, cold floors and empty fridge it’s just a bit more difficult than I had projected to get moving and actually accomplish anything. At all. I haven’t been out of the house since a couple of days before Christmas. Laundry piles up. The dishwasher is clean but full. Dresser drawers needing to be sorted remain untouched. The news cycle runs over and over on the television…planes being threatened, storms across the country. I think I might need a nap.
I never took a physics class but I believe that inertia creates more inertia and it’s harder and harder to move once you sit down. Unemployment is a lot like sitting down and I think today, even in the face of another snowstorm, I need to unstick myself and move out into the world. Cause a little snow never used to hold me back. And those of you reading this from “up north” would laugh at the small amount of snow that is currently thwarting all my plans of dogs and parks and walking in the woods!
So…onward! Let’s venture out! In the spirit of my northern friends…it’s time to get off the sofa, turn the TV off and find something interesting to do. Might organize the dresser drawers too…but probably not until tomorrow.

December 28, 2009 at 11:32 am
When I’m on summer break, people always ask what I do all day…I never really do much, but the day seems to pass quickly even without my long to do lists getting done. It is quite the effort to leave the backyard.
Good luck getting moving today! And if you don’t go anywhere….I totally understand.
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December 28, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I get it too – I always accomplish a lot more when I am busy and have to carve out time to get everything done. Making lists and getting started immediately in the morning sometimes helps when I feel inertia setting in. Good luck and hope you at least got out with Katie today!
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December 29, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I know what you mean–and it doesn’t take unemployment or cold weather to get the same effect. Ditto what Ricky said.
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December 29, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Ditto to what Ellen said. I have absolutely no reason excuse for feeling so sluggish. My boarding kennel is busy, I have two puppies, (besides the other dogs), begging me to work with them, and I just seem to be stuck to the couch, wishing I was back in my pajamas in bed. 😛
If you’re able to find some cure, please pass it along!!!
Marie
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December 29, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Have you been watching me????? lol…..and I’m still working and can’t seem to get anything done. I plan the things to do the next day while I’m snug in bed.
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January 1, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Yes, I know what you mean about that inertia-challenge. How do we get up and start moving when that inertia sets in? That has been my study for the past many years! After this last year of activity I’m wondering whether intertia/sluggism will reassert itself!
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January 2, 2010 at 9:30 am
Maybe we need to let go of our Puritan guilt and pay homage to inertia. The tendency of a body to remain at rest. Who says we have to ACCOMPLISH stuff all the time. (An eagle just coasted by my window!!!) Watch the birds and contemplate.
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