Old habits die hard

Today I have been lazy. You could say it is the weather or maybe it is a touch of summer indolence.

My swing seat, hanging from our big walnut tree, is becoming a favourite lunchtime spot but it is also becoming a habit. Yes, it’s a nice habit but habits can easily become routines.

It’s not the lunch part that is the problem, it’s the after effects. Food plus the soft slow motion of the seat sets up a natural progression that takes me into a state of nothingness. I try to convince myself that an odd 40 winks can be invigorating but as I lose all sense of time and place, logic goes unheeded – I end up feeling lazier than ever.

Does it matter? I come from a generation that lived in the belief that night time was for sleeping, daytime for working. Old habits die hard. The fact that I retired from the workforce many years ago does not ease my slight feeling of guilt when indulging in an unscheduled snooze.

However, reliable sources say relaxation and rest is important in renewing our energy levels.

Perhaps my days are turning into a summer hibernation. Like the squirrel who stores food in summer to survive the long cold winter: I’m storing up beta vitamins and minerals to use when the sun forgets to shine.

Of course, it is nothing to do with the aging process – I tell myself – yet I have a sneaky feeling that age does come into the equation – but does it matter?

I have read that when animals hibernate, their metabolism and temp slows down so that many animals do not even eat during hibernation. I have a notion my ‘‘swing seat siestas’’ are lowering my brain mentality yet it has no effect on my eating habits.

Strange isn’t it?