It takes a bit of effort of have a true Day Off. Plenty of times, a day off from work means household chores, family obligations, and other such projects. Fortunately, I have begun to listen to my own tune and I know that I’ve been doing good work well, but I needed a hard reset. So I delegated a few things, updated a few others, and took today off.
I encourage you to do this as well. Do it as often as you need to, but certainly once a quarter. Just as you do for the 12-Hour Vacation, the trick is to prepare ahead of time so you don’t fall into the temptation to do “just one thing” and find yourself folding four loads of laundry. I had clean sheets on the bed, a new novel picked out, Day 20 of the 100-Day Art Project selected, a fridge of tasty groceries, a jigsaw selected, and a firm commitment to not read the news.
After a second cup of strong, perfect coffee, I sketched out my painting project. I didn’t go ahead and paint it then, because I could feel myself getting tense and starting to feel that I had to be productive. So I switched gears and edged out my puzzle, which is a gorgeous, colorful image of Cinque Terre in Italy. I’m still missing one from the edge, but that’s okay. It’s in the pile somewhere, and I’ll eventually find it.
I broke my own rule and drove one town over to drop off the last few tax documents – a task I had tried to do yesterday as part of my “getting ready” list, but my Calvinist “you must be productive!” streak had me so flustered that I drove over there yesterday without the actual documents I was trying to deliver, so that one’s on me. Once I dropped those off, I decided to take my daily walk at the close by Broad River Greenway (that came with the bonus of asking a ranger for my resident sticker for Sally so I can go there for free!). It was cool, but pleasant down by the water’s edge. I heard geese and the skittering of little critters (probably lizards of some kind) and saw turtles placidly sunning themselves on river rocks. It was so quiet that I could hear the wind rustling in the treetops. It’s rare for things to be that quiet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I ambled, rather than walking at a brisk pace, but the 1.5 miles was enough to have me finish my Paris online challenge, which means I’ll have “race bling” arriving soon.
However, the true highlight of the day was meeting a friend at a hidden gem in my part of the Sticks called “Stem.” This is a brilliant space that I intend to go back to again and again. The food was plentiful and carefully curated, the mocktails were playful and well-mixed and oh! the owner is a true gift to this town. The space does all sorts of fun events (right now, there’s a “March Madness” contest of mocktails vs. mimosas!) and I’m thinking of getting a group together to do an uptown day starting coffee and the Farmer’s Market and finishing up here! Stay tuned for that.
When my friend and I went out separate ways, I came home to finish my painting and my garden designer (seriously, this project will take five years because we’re going s-l-o-w-l-y) turned into my driveway with a trunk full of bulbs. I painted and she planted – I think we’re both pleased with the day’s work!
I’ve still got the weekend to go. Take those hard resets, Divas. Taking care of yourself is not selfish. It’s what gives us the ability to take care of those around us.
Leave a Reply