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Slowing Down to Enjoy the Ride


With the holidays upon us, life for us all is getting hectic.  Whether you are hosting, traveling, or just existing in America right now there is a hustle to the world that is hard to shut out. At our house, for Thanksgiving, we caught a stomach bug.  My husband felt ill for one night, went to Thanksgiving dinner, ate all the pie and went about his life.  I made it through Black Friday at the bookstore (it’s even the busiest shopping day of the year for us at a little local bookstore) and CRASHED. I went to bed Friday night after work and proceeded to sleep through Saturday, getting up Sunday and going to work.


I can’t remember the last time I got that kind of sick. I haven’t so much as gotten a cold in years, but I crashed hard.  This morning, Wednesday was the first morning I didn’t feel blah when I woke up.  I actually ate something more substantial than oatmeal or toast today.  I had originally planned on making mulled wine and doing Christmas chores around the house today but have opted for lots of water and a mix of relaxing and chores around the house.


Right now, I have a load of laundry in the washer, dishes soaking in the sink, and am sitting in front of the fire pit enjoying my version of downtime. I’m wondering if my constant go-go-go is part of why the stomach bug hit me so hard.  Clearly, I needed the 30+ hours of sleep I got over a 36-hour period because all that rest has not affected my sleep in the slightest.  
Week Two of Organize Now! Focuses on defining your priorities then tailoring your activities and commitments around those priorities.  I realized that my health wasn’t the priority it needs to be.  Sure, I pay attention to what I eat and try to work out regularly, but I was neglecting rest.  
I dubbed 2019 The Year of Self Care and didn’t fully embrace what that meant.  I got better at the not feeling guilty when I indulged in a second brownie or said yes to a glass of wine, but I went a very superficial route.  I did the at-home facials and pajama days but didn’t think about self-care past that.  I’m not making an official resolution for 2020.  
I am going to continue with a year of self-care- but I’m going to do more than that.  I’m making myself a priority.  
It’s a realization a thousand Hallmark movie heroines have, but we can’t all leave our high-pressure jobs in the big city for small-town life and a cute stranger we met at the all town Christmas festival.

But I can unplug in front of the fire pit for a couple hours every now and then Read a good book, write in my journal, listen to a podcast.  I don’t have to multitask my life away.  I can slow down and enjoy what’s happening.


Especially during the holidays.
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