Vacation is Important

I recently took a little time off work. I needed said vacation more than I thought I did. I realized this on the 2^nd day of my vacation.

It went a little something like this……..

 

I got up early to have a little breakfast date with Kent before he headed off to work.
We were at Market Street.
Love their oatmeal bar and coffee!
We chatted and enjoyed each other’s company.
I sipped on my coffee and talked about all the things I wanted to do on my vacation: cook, bake, read, blog, work on my Project Life Album, visit with family…….
Out of nowhere I started crying.
I wasn’t crying because I was sad I was crying because I was relaxed……no pressure, no deadlines, no one waiting on me for something, no never ending to do list that needed my attention. It was a feeling I realized I haven’t felt in a very long time.

Quiet………stillness….….absences of pressure……….peace.

It was as if someone slipped something in my coffee. I could feel my shoulders release and my body relax. I had no idea I was carrying around that much stress. I guess I’ve just become used to it.

 

 

Kent of course didn’t know what in the world was going on but sat with me and listened while I talked things through.

 

I find so much joy in what I do that I’ve let it take over me. I work long hours. I go months without taking a full day off. There are days that I’m running on very little sleep so I can try and fit it all in. I focus so much on my job that I’ve forgotten about my other passions, my house is a mess, my family suffers, and Kent often gets the short end of the stick.

I know I ‘m not alone in this as I’m sure there are others out there struggling with the same thing.

Can I get an amen?

Reducing my stress even if just for a week allowed me to come out of my fog and gain some perspective.

 

THIS is why vacation is important.

 

It’s like pressing an internal restart button. Pressing that button will not only make you a better mother, wife, friend, it will also make you a better employee even if you are your own boss (like myself).

 

What have I taken away from this little life lesson I’ve learned?

-I’m cutting my fall work load back.
-I’m rearranging my pricing.
-I’m scheduling days off and I’m going to try my darndest to make sure that my days off are guilt and pressure free so they are actually beneficial to me.
-I’m going to continue to work on saying no. As much as I want to do it all I simple can’t. My free time is precious and fleeting. I need to make sure that that things I commit myself to are things I want to do, not things I feel pressured into doing. People will just have to understand.
-I will not loose sight of my other passions! They need love too!
-I will take my camera out and shoot just for fun!
-Lastly I will make sure that I take some sort of a vacation twice a year even if it’s a staycation!

Why?
Because vacation is important!