I don’t make my bed on Tuesdays.
So when I get out of bed on Tuesday mornings, that is all I do–get out of it. Because I don’t make my bed on Tuesdays. And I also don’t feel guilty about it.
It’s nice to know what you do. It’s freedom to know what you don’t do.
And I don’t make my bed on Tuesdays.
Or run.
Or give to causes at the grocery store check-out line.
Or volunteer in two places on the same Sunday.
Or write lists on unlined paper.
Or hold too fast to any of these “rules.”
But it helps to have them. It sets me free from the expectations of 1000 different people and things. They still ask. They still wonder why not. So I guess really all it’s doing is setting me free from my own expectations. Expectations to be helpful, to be pretty, to be pleasing, to be willing…to be perfect.
It’s kind of funny. We keep reassuring each other that we’re not perfect. As though everyone else didn’t already know. News flash to self: you’re the only one delusional enough to expect yourself to be perfect. Everyone else has already either embraced your flaws or moved on.
And so I don’t make my bed on Tuesdays. As a declaration to myself of my inability to do it all. And it sets me free to say no to other things too.
There are things I don’t do. And that might not always be right. And it might annoy some people.
And that’s ok.
And it’s ok that there are things you don’t do too.
So do tell. What don’t you do?
19 comments
Becky
March 3, 2015 at 10:02 pmI don’t forward on emails that say “forward this email to 200 of your closest friends and you will be blessed by nightfall (or I assume cursed if you don’t?)” I figure God doesn’t need me to do anything in order to be cursed or blessed, I’m pretty sure He’s got this.
And…I don’t feel guilty, as a matter of fact, I feel kind of joyful when I hit delete!!
Cody
March 3, 2015 at 10:14 pmHaha! Becky, I love this!
Gaynor
March 4, 2015 at 7:47 amConcur. LOL!
Becky
March 3, 2015 at 10:02 pmI don’t forward on emails that say “forward this email to 200 of your closest friends and you will be blessed by nightfall (or I assume cursed if you don’t?)” I figure God doesn’t need me to do anything in order to be cursed or blessed, I’m pretty sure He’s got this.
And…I don’t feel guilty, as a matter of fact, I feel kind of joyful when I hit delete!!
Cody
March 3, 2015 at 10:14 pmHaha! Becky, I love this!
Meredith
March 4, 2015 at 4:08 amI don’t make my bed on Tuesday either! I also don’t make my bed on Wednesday, or Thursday, or most days. I have chastised myself for this so many times, but it doesn’t seem to matter, I always seem to have other things that are more pressing than taking the five minutes it would take to make my bed.
Cody
March 4, 2015 at 4:16 amI fully support your priorities, Meredith! 🙂
Meredith
March 4, 2015 at 4:08 amI don’t make my bed on Tuesday either! I also don’t make my bed on Wednesday, or Thursday, or most days. I have chastised myself for this so many times, but it doesn’t seem to matter, I always seem to have other things that are more pressing than taking the five minutes it would take to make my bed.
Cody
March 4, 2015 at 4:16 amI fully support your priorities, Meredith! 🙂
Gaynor
March 4, 2015 at 7:48 amI think the older I get, the less I care about the zillion things I DON’T do and am able to just be grateful for the things I get TO DO.
Gaynor
March 4, 2015 at 7:48 amI think the older I get, the less I care about the zillion things I DON’T do and am able to just be grateful for the things I get TO DO.
Tamara
April 1, 2015 at 11:09 amI don’t do the dishes until I feel ready. I know they will get done, and so I don’t let a few dirty dishes stress me out. I think rest after a meal is more important than hurrying into the next chore.
I don’t always brush my hair before I leave the house to run an errand. I keep a baseball hat in my car for that reason.
I don’t force myself to limit the amount of tea I drink in a day.
I always don’t proofread e-mails and texts before I send them. To my boss? Yes. To a dear friend? No. Life is richer when you let go of the need to word everything perfectly all the time.
I don’t let myself feel bad about not being as crafty and chef-y and yoga-y and Pinterest-y as so many of the other lovely, talented women I know.
I don’t always honor my bedtime.
Tamara
April 1, 2015 at 11:10 amIronically, I “always don’t proofread e-mails” should’ve said, “I don’t always proofread e-mails”. Apparently you are in the “dear friend” category. 😉
Cody
April 1, 2015 at 12:36 amHaha! This is great — this and your list 🙂
Tamara
April 1, 2015 at 11:09 amI don’t do the dishes until I feel ready. I know they will get done, and so I don’t let a few dirty dishes stress me out. I think rest after a meal is more important than hurrying into the next chore.
I don’t always brush my hair before I leave the house to run an errand. I keep a baseball hat in my car for that reason.
I don’t force myself to limit the amount of tea I drink in a day.
I always don’t proofread e-mails and texts before I send them. To my boss? Yes. To a dear friend? No. Life is richer when you let go of the need to word everything perfectly all the time.
I don’t let myself feel bad about not being as crafty and chef-y and yoga-y and Pinterest-y as so many of the other lovely, talented women I know.
I don’t always honor my bedtime.
Tamara
April 1, 2015 at 11:10 amIronically, I “always don’t proofread e-mails” should’ve said, “I don’t always proofread e-mails”. Apparently you are in the “dear friend” category. 😉
Cody
April 1, 2015 at 12:36 amHaha! This is great — this and your list 🙂
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