Taking things Nice and Slow with Hayley DeRoche

How "slow down" momfluencer content reframes domestic labor as self-care

This woman looks relaxed and happy taking things “nice and slow” because she is ALONE and therefore doesn’t have to worry that her kids will think whatever she’s making is too spicy.

My ideal version of a “nice and slow” day goes a little something like this. I wake up whenever I want. I make myself tea. It’s quiet. I drink the tea while fucking around online. Maybe I throw some linen jumpsuits into a virtual cart but never buy them. Maybe I try to finish the Sunday crossword. Maybe I text an old high school friend about having a bizarre sex dream about another high school friend last night. Who knows? Who cares? The world [day] is my oyster because it’s my ideal “nice and slow” day!

Then I make some peanut butter and jam toast and drink another cup of tea. It’s still quiet. Then I go for a jog or a walk whilst listening to the dulcet tones of Sarah Marshall as she tells me the true story about a maligned woman from the 1990s via her podcast You’re Wrong About.

I get home. It’s still quiet. I shower. It’s still quiet. I put on loose, cotton clothing and either:

1. Garden

2. Read

3. Knit

4. A combo of all four

The day winds down and I meet a friend for ice cold IPAs at some glorious outdoor place where the light is golden. I go home to eat buttery, parmesan-y pasta on the couch while watching an Agatha Christie TV movie. It’s still quiet.

Me blissfully snuggled up on the couch about to delight in the magic and wonder of Hercules Poirot solving a murder that definitely took place in the parlor.

Then I climb into bed with some Sleepy Time tea and read. It’s very quiet. And then I fall asleep.

You might notice that in my ideal “nice and slow” day there’s none of the following: