Hello, friends, how are you?
I’m actually pretty decent, today at least. We’re taking a few days to just rest. Nothing planned, nothing in particular, just chilling and not worrying about anything.
Well, in theory.
In practice, my spouse has had two work meetings he hasn’t been able to get out of, the kids have whined about being bored, we had a miscommunication about how long to spend on an art project versus making dinner, and I’ve spent about four hours at the pool, which is a lot of pool but I suppose isn’t too bad.
(May also have gotten sunburned. Whoops.)
I’ve used the non-family time to read 75% of a novel and 60 pages of a nonfiction book, finish revising a chapter and start another, and take a nap (which was not terribly successful because everyone kept coming in to bother me, oh well). And I am purposefully not thinking about anything that’s been giving me anxiety lately–nothing related to school or volunteer commitments, nothing related to the basement flood or the tornado, nothing related to my furnace failing, nothing related to upcoming conventions.
Will I have to think about all those things tomorrow? Oh, absolutely. Dance classes, a book study, an email to the other volunteers, choir practice, the furnace people and the landscapers, my neighbor whose wife just died.
But those are for tomorrow.
Today, we let ourselves relax. Today, we find joy and comfort where we can.
I can’t imagine the chronic stress that we all seem to find ourselves in lately is healthy. I know I’m lucky in that I can take a few days to disconnect and destress (and good Lord, after the year we’ve had, I need it). I should probably figure out how I can destress a little bit every day, but mostly it’s just one thing after another, neverending.
How do you destress, friends? Any tips for when real life comes raining back down?
I have been seriously ground down by stress lately, so I took a few days off to go tent camping. We were out of cell range so it was a true unplug and how I enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time standing around waiting — for a fire to catch, for coals to reach the right point, for food to cook, for water to boil. Just being quiet and doing almost nothing proved seriously healing and recharged me. As for re-entry, I am trying to only deal with what needs immediate attention. And I’m simplifying where I can. I need a Halloween costume tonight, and while I would love to do something complicated and exotic, I’ve decided to make do with a DIY one using things I already own. No shopping required, no stress involved.
Maybe that’s the answer–just taking some time to sit and do nothing, even if it’s just waiting for something else to happen.