My trip to California allowed for the mulling over of a few changes to my status quo. One of them being that I should take time out on the weekends, make it special, make it something to which I look forward, and spend some time with the members of my family outside of the house. Outside of chores. Outside of the To-Do list that dogs my heels and urges me to fill every waking hour with useful necessary tasks. In short, have some fun. Relax in between my walks and the supervising of laundry, dusting, mopping, mowing, weed eating, watering, organizing, and the like. Allow for the possibility that a day trip, or possibly even an overnight trip, might manifest and urge us to pile into the Yukon. Let there be unplanned segments to the day open to whatever may come. Or to absolutely nothing.
It's not that those things don't sometimes happen in my world, but in my mind they are considered a hindrance to getting things done. I tend to think of the weekends as a time to get more work done. Often, I'm antsy, restless, wriggling in my seat if sitting, shifting from foot to foot if standing, finding actions to keep my hands busy. I have to consciously focus on the fun aspect of a given event and force thoughts of what isn't being scratched off my mental list into a cold dark corner! In fact, I look forward to the painful, often exhausting arrival of my female cycle to get me off of the hook from which I am almost entirely unable to disengage myself. Biochemical processes cause everything to slow down and the choice to move forward is removed from my decision-making process. But, sitting propped up on the couch with a heating pad on my abdomen and on my lower back and sweating from it, girded as women must be for the days' battle ahead, ingesting ibuprofen gelcaps like candies -- none of it actually translates as fun. Or as relaxation.
One of my proudest achievements in this new frontier was my Sunday afternoon nap a few weeks back with my husband on our cuddle-sized couch. Evidently we must have looked like we were doing it supremely right because my daughter snapped a picture on my iPhone and left it there for us to view upon waking. Friday night, we hit the movies, gorging on popcorn and Raisinets. We ran into two fine couples that we knew; sat with one. Today, we hunted through the numerous coupon books we purchased from various and sundry neighbor and church kids and decided on a Buy One Get One coupon to Long John Silvers. The food was far from fresh and tasty. The ice for drinks fell down the chute at the rate of roughly five ice cubes every ten to fifteen seconds. We had mildly upset tummies and heartburn several hours later. But we can say we've been there, done that now. Won't do it again. We didn't WASTE money. We ran a few errands. Enjoyed one another's company. Once back at home, we simply shared space. It was perfectly lovely.Though the final hours of my night ran amok with duties: school supply shopping, late dinner for me and my men, laundry, checkbook balancing, and preparing for the next morning, I took the time to squeeze in a bit of enjoyment. Namely food. Wasabi peas. Yummo! Manchego cheese. Sauteed squash. And, spray whipped cream on my finger tips just like my kids were taught! Now, I'm ready for bed.
Work starts tomorrow. But, I confess to scheduling lunch with a good friend I don't see nearly enough. Catching up with my peoples is definitely on my To-Do list. Is it MY fault if it happens to be both fun and relaxing?
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