otiose /adj./ lazy or indolent. of no use. ineffective or futile. idle. laggard. slothful. pointless. profitless. worthless. hollow. superfluous.
otiose /adj./ 1. I'm making myself write this post. David, for one, wishes I would have written it yesterday. (I had a rough night, all too terribly aware of my otiose homemaking efforts in the face of stupid and constant entropy.) So here goes. First the word itself. Talk about otiose. The "t" right in the middle of this word serves as a case in point, as it is pronounced "oh-shee-ohs." That "t" seems equally lazy, ineffective, pointless, and superfluous.
otiose /adj./ 2. Ethan had three days off school this week and we had such an enjoyable time together, it made me wonder (yet again) if pre-K isn't a completely otiose endeavor. But then I went to his parent-teacher conference and they showed me how week by week his ability to write his name has improved. I got a little teary at his progress and even a little proud, despite myself.
otiose /adj./ 3. Caleb had his first official boy scout camp-out this week and David was good enough to go with him. The camporee was held next to part of the Mormon Battalion trail and as part of the camp they did a 6 or 7 mile hike along the trail (through the middle of the desert) with stops and challenges along the way. They came back hot and sunburned. (I packed Caleb an otiose sweatshirt and long pants, instead of sunscreen. Sounds about right.)
otiose /adj./ 4. Thursday this week was "National Boss's Day." (Which is quite an otiose minor holiday when you really think about it.) But they celebrated it at the hospital. When David came home with a balloon and goodies, Olivia asked incredulously, "You're the boss?" When David smiled and said he was, Olivia commented that she had no idea.
otiose /adj./ 5. Caleb is still working on his aerospace project, and I spent about eight otiose hours this weekend helping him with it. I think I am quite possibly the most otiose "parent coach" ever (ineffective and worthless, not idle or lazy), and am just trying to figure out what we can come up with in 6 more weeks that will be worth standing up in front of a half dozen NASA scientists for. We are still in the "life-support" stage (do you know how much water and oxygen 100 people use in 2 years time!), though we did make some progress yesterday as a group on the social/cultural/political aspects of the project. Meanwhile, I am spending my "free time" reading articles about humanure...which is exactly what you think it is.
otiose /adj./ 6. On Saturday morning, while David and Caleb were at the scout camporee, the other kids and I helped out on an Eagle scout project, painting fire hydrants. The kids were hesitant, at first, to spend their "play day" out in the hot sun doing "scouts" (Olivia says the word with particular revulsion), but all their protestations became otiose once they saw they got to wield their very own paintbrushes. We had a great time, and even managed to keep most of the bright yellow, enamel-based paint on the actual hydrants...though there are a few obvious bits in David's car. (David had the camera so you will just have to imagine our sweaty, paint-spotted faces grinning at you from behind a fire hydrant right here.)