There are days when you have to stop and take a little mini vacation. This is a vacation of the spirit. You can't plan this, it's not expensive and you most likely just stay home. It is a little unexpected block of time where you say " enough, I'm on vacation" and then proceed to take one. It can be for as little as for 15 minutes or as long as 3 days anything longer turns into an actual vacation. Which is also Ok but not the same thing,
This time of year the ground is still asleep, trees are still without leaves, grass dormant. The outside knows the importance of rest but as a society we value a good day of tasks completed.
If you find yourself wandering from room to room, fighting with yourself about your to do list and generally feeling overwhelmed, under appreciated, over booked, exhausted, then for heavens sake take a vacation day. If you can't take the whole day then take 3 hours, take 1 hour, take 2 days. Take back your own sanity and give your life a chance to breath and your smile to effortlessly return.
I think there is great value in free time, in taking a break from the have to's of life. Freedom is what we fight for in this country. Freedom is also what we should enjoy. When we were in high school we called this playing hooky. Go play hooky, if being on vacation is to formal. But most of all just relax and smell the roses.
Wishing you a most enjoyable hooky-vacation day,
Denise
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Go outside and get the stink blown off"
"Go outside and get the stink blown off" These are words my mom must have said to me on a weekly base when I was growing up. I don't know what led to her saying. Was I getting grumpy, acting up, was I bored, pale, snippy, tired, edgy??? I have no idea- well that's not entirely true. Her words sound off in my head even now when I'm a bit out of sorts or feeling caged up.
Going up in Colorado, even in the winter, I still had outside chores. I was suppose to water the cattle. In the winter, this also meant, chipping ice out of the tank, so there was room for fresh water. It meant being extra careful not to run the tank over. After it was filled, I needed to stretch out the hose and carefully lift it up over my head. From one end to the other end until all the water had run out. Do you know how much trouble it is to thaw a hose in the middle of winter??? Do you know how unhappy your family memebers are with you if you freeze a hose?
I now live in the city, I don't have cows I need to water. I walk my dogs most everyday but it isn't quite the same as accomplishing a chore. This afternoon it was sunny and all I wanted to do was go outside and clean out my rock/herb garden bed outside my living room window.
This whole day I had been plaged with a heavy feeling of dispair. I took a little break and my mom's advice and went outside. I pulled weeds, cut off perenials and moved around little rocks. It wasn't a big job but I paused from my day and put my hands in rich winter soil. Smelling the sage leaves as I raked, I looked at the dark soil, saw little worms. This pause was a little bit of heaven. Taking me less than 1 hour I went outside and "got the stink blown off" and in the midst of my mothers advice my day was so much sweeter.
Wishing you a good trip outside,
Denise
Going up in Colorado, even in the winter, I still had outside chores. I was suppose to water the cattle. In the winter, this also meant, chipping ice out of the tank, so there was room for fresh water. It meant being extra careful not to run the tank over. After it was filled, I needed to stretch out the hose and carefully lift it up over my head. From one end to the other end until all the water had run out. Do you know how much trouble it is to thaw a hose in the middle of winter??? Do you know how unhappy your family memebers are with you if you freeze a hose?
I now live in the city, I don't have cows I need to water. I walk my dogs most everyday but it isn't quite the same as accomplishing a chore. This afternoon it was sunny and all I wanted to do was go outside and clean out my rock/herb garden bed outside my living room window.
This whole day I had been plaged with a heavy feeling of dispair. I took a little break and my mom's advice and went outside. I pulled weeds, cut off perenials and moved around little rocks. It wasn't a big job but I paused from my day and put my hands in rich winter soil. Smelling the sage leaves as I raked, I looked at the dark soil, saw little worms. This pause was a little bit of heaven. Taking me less than 1 hour I went outside and "got the stink blown off" and in the midst of my mothers advice my day was so much sweeter.
Wishing you a good trip outside,
Denise
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Don't wait for an earthquake to shake you present
"The 7.0 magnitude quake that struck Tuesday is most powerful to hit the Caribbean nation in 200 years" Headline from on online newspaper Voice of America 1-13-10.
You can plan, schedule, dream and work and yet when a 7.0 magnitude earth quake hits your day, your life is forever changed. No matter what we planned or scheduled life is bigger than our to do lists.
Learning to appreciate and cherish the gifts of each day: the morning chat over breakfast, the rowdy afternoon watching football with your husband, the Saturday morning cleaning your house, the phone call with your dad, the walk in the rain with your dogs. Everyday is a gift.
Pause today- stop and just look around. Don't look at what you haven't done or need to do but stop and be present. Look around and see what you have been given. The gift of this day.
Be mindful, enjoy your days and cherish your relationships.
Wishing you a happy and healthy home,
Denise
You can plan, schedule, dream and work and yet when a 7.0 magnitude earth quake hits your day, your life is forever changed. No matter what we planned or scheduled life is bigger than our to do lists.
Learning to appreciate and cherish the gifts of each day: the morning chat over breakfast, the rowdy afternoon watching football with your husband, the Saturday morning cleaning your house, the phone call with your dad, the walk in the rain with your dogs. Everyday is a gift.
Pause today- stop and just look around. Don't look at what you haven't done or need to do but stop and be present. Look around and see what you have been given. The gift of this day.
Be mindful, enjoy your days and cherish your relationships.
Wishing you a happy and healthy home,
Denise
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