procrastinate

procrastinate |prəˈkrastəˌnāt; prō-| verb [ intrans. ] delay or postpone action; put off doing something. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin procrastinat- ‘deferred until tomorrow,’ from the verb procrastinare, from pro- ‘forward’ + crastinus ‘belonging to tomorrow’ (from cras ‘tomorrow’ ).

I'll admit it, in print, for the first time ever: I'm lazy. Some of my friends and all of my family know this fact, but for those of you that are surprised by this blatant, earth-shaking revelation, let me explain. Laziness works for me as a tactical plan. In preparing my theater design projects, nothing gets my blood pumping or my heart racing faster than an impending deadline. I usually have months to prepare shows-months that I use to girder myself for the moment Cynthia calls to say she needs 5 complete outfits by tomorrow, or Jeff texts with a list of impossibilities that have to be delivered in a week. That rush of adrenalin, mixed with copious amounts of caffeine, often produce my finest stagecraft.

The winter holidays are when my laziness is on full display. Just last week, Ron redecorated the bedroom, cleaned both bathrooms, cooked bread pudding from scratch, shopped for cordials, found and cleaned our glassware, vacuumed all the rugs, re-routed heaters into every room in the house, winterized our windows, and cut fresh greenery for a holiday display, all while I set the table. It was a lovely table.

I have wavered this whole season with the idea of setting up a Christmas Tree. Don't misunderstand. There are many more pros than cons to a having a Christmas Tree. I love Christmas Trees. I've trotted a bright yellow Christmas Tree from my family in Waco everywhere I've moved around the country for the past 15 years. When I moved to Savannah, I could only take the things most important to me in the backseat of my convertible. That first trip included two suitcases of clothes and that favorite yellow Christmas Tree. I gleefully accepted Ron's marriage proposal by the light of that same Christmas Tree. Christmas Trees are laden with the fruit of every joyful emotion I can remember...they are just too much work for someone as lazy as me.

Ron and I finally bought a tree yesterday. After 5 trees in the loft last year, all well over 7' each, dripping with ornaments themed to each room, Chestnut House's tree is a welcome change. At just under 3' tall, with missing branches and one side that was obviously grown and nurtured to be shoved against a wall, it seems approachable-even for lazy old me.

I am going to end this blog and go decorate that tree with my husband and our dog in our house on our day off, and quietly remember that, when people realize you are lazy, they often let you lean on their shoulder.

Somehow they find the strength to support the both of you.

Soon-

Jon (and Ron and Atticus.)