SLOW

1 a : mentally dull : stupid (a slow student) b : naturally inert or sluggish
2 a : lacking in readiness, promptness, or willingness b : not hasty or precipitate (was slow to anger)

It's been a slow morning, prompted by my sluggish mood and assisted by daughters who have not been hasty to make this day a fast moving one. After starting my day by reading a few chapters in bed (yes, reading in bed, one of life's small luxuries) before the lure of coffee made me forsake the bed for a comfy chair, the day has continued at a snail's pace.

My three daughters, being the three very different individuals that they are, have spent our slow morning in their own ways:

10 year old A has devoured the second Harry Potter book, upon realizing that it is now June and her six month waiting period is up. Our original rule was that the girls could start reading Harry Potter when they were eleven - like Harry - and could add one book every six months. We surprised A for her 10th birthday by modifying our rule and allowing her to start the series. But the six month wait between books remains - I am all about delayed gratification, especially when it comes to wonders of the literary world.

8 year old B has watched a recorded iCarly episode, played a Wii game, read a book and played in her room. My theory is that B's mind is hard wired for creativity, making her more prone than her elder sister to flit from one activity to another. While she can certainly maintain concentration when something captures her imagination, she has a restlessness to her that is largely absent from A. While I love this about her, it can also make me feel like she needs a cruise director more than a mom. Unfortunately for her - or perhaps good for her in the long run? - she has a mom who is unwilling to be her cruise director and often simply reminds her of the activities at her disposal, while encouraging her to entertain herself. If this leads to a bit more electronic media than I would like, I believe she's old enough at 8 to make most of these decisions for herself.

6 year old K has watched the Smurfs (she thought it was really funny when I told her that I watched it as a little girl), drawn a picture, talked, talked, talked and watched a Giada cooking show with me while I folded clothes. K doesn't do slow days quite as well as the rest of us. If B is hard-wired for creativity, K is hard-wired for interaction, making a mom with a nagging headache, one sister immersed in a book and another sister off in her own world less than an ideal companions. She mostly handles this well and is currently talking to her grapes as she eats them for a snack.

Me? I've finished a book (back on the fiction wagon), drunk coffee, tried to no avail to rid myself of a nagging headache and held down the fort while J went in for a Saturday morning of work. I am feeling "naturally inert and sluggish," if not "mentally dull." And I'm certainly "lacking in readiness, promptness, and willingness." While I've made a token attempt to tackle this week's laundry (how do I always forget that summer activities generate more than their fair share of laundry loads?), I am essentially hoping that a slow morning will lead me to a restorative nap that will find me headache free. Likely? Perhaps not, but I can dream, even if I have to do so slowly.