In my family, Pajama Day is an institution. When life presses in and moves too quickly, the best remedy around is to lock the doors, turn off the phones, and stay comfortably ensconced in your most comfortable sleep attire. A day spent reading, surfing the web, watching old movies or daytime TV can be just what the doctor ordered. The five of us each have our own version, developed over time to bring maximum relief and renewal to stressed out lives.
This pajama day tradition was established by my mom who is actually a Zen master when it comes to Pajama Days. She has been known to refuse calls from her long lost daughter (me) because she is fully consumed by a movie she has seen 117 times. She has always had a wardrobe for these occasions, usually consisting of baggy sweatpants and oversized t-shirts (usually with bleach stains, worn spots, and best if purchased in a prior decade). Over her lifetime the pajama day has evolved into the pajama vacation (which she would classify as the best of all possible vacations) in which she would not have to put on outside clothes… even once.
My sister, Kristi, would describe a perfect pajama day (which I don’t think she has had in the last 7 years) as a day that she did not have to wake up… at all. She might roll over and watch TV for a bit, stumble to the kitchen for a bit, and head right back to the bed for a bit more sleep. When she finally awoke from her pajama day stupor, she would indulge in a bath… because she knows “There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.” My Aunt Billie, who confessed to not having a pajama day since she married Jim, remembers fondly days spent watching QVC in the recliner. My own pajama days do not happen nearly often enough, but I have been known to check out of the world for a morning or a whole day on an as-needed basis, to write or read or watch mindless TV.
When my kids were little, I established Saturday as a Pajama Day ( I like to think of it a Sabbath rest Boucher style). Keith worked on Saturday, we only had one car, and everyone else had a dad at home. Allie returned from a long summer visit to Grandma’s house and announced her discovery of Pajama Day, just like Grandma. So, for several years the Boucher clan enjoyed a Saturday tradition of pajama clad activities. We watched movies, played board games (well, they played board games- until someone cried), and established pajama day foods including pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches (another mom tradition), and tacos… all food Keith didn’t consider real food.
Now, with (almost) adult children, if I press their lack of ambition on a given day, I will inevitably receive the reply “it’s a Pajama Day”. Steph has been known to completely take over the living room for such occasions. Allie might not come out of her room, now that she has a fancy new computer, and although Brian might not as readily admit to a Pajama Day, he will spend his whole day off rambling between the Netflix movie on demand in the living room and the Xbox in his bedroom. Rosie, a dog who never missed a nap, has a keen eye for anything resembling a Pajama Day, because she knows there will be lots of horizontal time, snuggle time, and maybe even some snacks involved. Our youngest member, Waffles, hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it, but I’m sure she will adapt over time.
The common thread of our pajama days were that all activities revolved around things that we didn’t do with dad home. As the kids grew, and we did too, even Keith joined the fun. He has been known (pretty regularly) to assert his right to a Pajama Day when I returned from work to find him happily playing Farmville while still in his pajamas and slippers. Keith and I enjoy Pajama Days together on occasion, where we might spend an entire day snuggled on the couch playing Bejewelled on our laptops with food network playing in the background.
Today is a perfect pajama day. There are lots of things I could be doing, should be doing, but no one will die if I check out just a bit. Keith and Rosie are upstairs napping, Steph is laying on the sofa in the den watching reruns of Full House in an old tee shirt and baggy shorts, and I’ve been surfing the internet for hours in my night gown. Later, I might get dressed and go out to engage the world, or not, but I know I will be more ready to engage my life when I wake up tomorrow because today was a Pajama Day.
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