Friday Afternoon Confessional: There’s Always Tomorrow

I confess to being a little too lazy to be what I would consider properly informed. The reason I say this is I’ll come home from work, greet and tend to my two dogs and two cats and turn my attention to what I want to do with the rest of my evening.

After I’ve eaten a snack and successfully procrastinated on exercising, I look over my choices. Sitting on my coffee table, there’s the latest Economist and New Yorker. Sitting next to them, there’s my book club’s current choice for reading. I tell myself that I really should read one of the three. After all, the next book club meeting is approaching and the two magazines were Christmas gifts and I feel guilty when the week passes and I haven’t even touched that week’s edition. Seriously. It’s been too many times where I’ve opened the mailbox and winced when I see a new issue of one of those magazines. “Already? Damn, I keep meaning to read last week’s edition!”

But really, it’s often the case that I just don’t want to come home from work only to read about how China’s workforce is shrinking. I just don’t always feel like reading about how much Sasha Frere-Jones loves some band who when I hear them later I will just feel dumb for not “getting”.

So, telling myself I’ll get to an article later, I remember that funny post I put on Facebook and I check to see if anybody has “liked” or commented. Oh, there was also that article about Justin Verlander I had meant to check out yesterday. I’m going to read that, too. Oh, look, the dogs are bummed that I’m just sitting hear reading my phone. I’d better play with them for a while. Whoops, my wife is home. I’d better think of dinner so I can have some input to what we have. What’s that? The DVR is nearly full? Well, we’d better watch Bob’s Burgers and maybe a Justified if we’re not too tired. Oh, look at that, The Departed is on. I always watch that when it’s on. Woo, I’m sleepy. Let’s go to bed.

As I turn out the lights, I notice the magazines and the Kindle sitting lonely on the coffee table. Maybe I’ll take them with me to work to read at lunch tomorrow. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. I confess that even as I make that deal with myself, I know it’s not very likely. Not every day goes like this. But it happens more often than I’d care to admit were this not the day for my confessional.

How about you, good reader? Did you lie to yourself about what you’d accomplish this week? Do tell.