July 29, 2017
As of today I am officially on vacation, and I’m ecstatic. This is a much needed break from my daily routine, the morning alarms, the begging my oldest child to put on his shoes, the question plaguing marriages across the nation: What do you wanna eat for dinner? Nope, I’m done with all of that temporarily and it feels amazing.
I spent the last couple of weeks really trying to prepare my work so that nothing would fall behind while I was away. My goal was to punch out, on time and fancy free, gliding along the way home. But yesterday was nothing like that. I barely punched out on time, I didn’t get half of the shi– ahem, stuff done that I intended to. My kids were the last ones waiting at daycare for me and I was a hot sweaty mess. We ate french fries for dinner (the three year old’s request) and I begrudgingly informed my husband that I will undoubtedly need to go into my office during my vacation to finish that stuff I just mentioned a second ago.
The photo below is a real life photo of me around 2pm yesterday. Please don’t tell my supervisor.
Today was better, although I spent the first half of the day reminding myself that I don’t need to rush around dreading Monday. It occurred to me how problematic it is that I have so much trouble redirecting my brain to rest mode. I’m certain you can identify with that feeling. Winding down is an art.
I decided to do only what I felt like doing today. I rearranged a couple of the kitchen cabinets, which is part of a larger reorganization project I’m working on. Lately I’ve felt the need to purge and reorganize and refresh. It’s a new season. I’m also practicing mindfulness and being in the moment, especially with my children. So today we laughed a lot, and played and sat outside for a while to enjoy the afternoon breeze.
I’m slowly but surely switching to vacation mode. And besides,
I don’t wanna think about work.
I don’t wanna hear about work.
I don’t wanna see pictures of work.
I don’t wanna be asked about work.
I don’t wanna go anywhere in this city that requires me to pass my place of work.
But I’m grateful to have a job to go back to, even if I don’t wanna right now.
I just wanna chill.
Take Care,
D. Southern
Caregivers' Village 