Currently... Trying to Establish Balance

If you keep up with me, you may have noticed that I only had one blog post last week.  My "Currently..." post, last Monday.  Note that the first thing on that list was "fighting a cold."  Yeah, well, I lost that battle.  I chalk it up to what I call "exhaustion flu," when you're body determines that you don't have the good sense to take a break and rest when you need it, so every cell in your body goes on strike, leaving you to be able to do nothing but lay on the couch and barely move as your children walk round you, peeking just to make sure you are still breathing.  So, note to the wise - take time for yourself.

I know, as busy folks out there, we tend to think we don't have time to rest, we eat on the run, and we feel we must check and respond to every email, text and phone message ASAP and post our every thought on Facebook or the world will stop spinning.  As moms, we even feel guilty for taking a nap, saying "no" to the call for volunteering at school (again),  ordering dinner rather than cooking from scratch, and going to bed at a reasonable time instead of staying up and sewing on all the Girl Scout patches and baking two dozen cupcakes for tomorrow's bake sale.  My daughter asked me recently, "Mommy, why don't you ever take a bubble bath?"  What an excellent question, which sadly the only response I had was that I was too busy.

But, I did get out of town over the weekend. Not 100% a restful get-away, I attended a sorority conference, but there were some restful moments.  I did travel alone, drove through the New England countryside a little bit, and I went to dinner by myself before my friend got in town.  This is such a rare treat - real food that I didn't have to cook, with cloth napkins and candlelight, a martini and everything. I take my book, order whatever I want, people watch, and enjoy some quiet time.  This really is one of my guilty pleasures.

So, yes, we do need to rest, we do need to eat right and take care of ourselves. Otherwise, the only thing that's going to stop moving is you. The world is going to continue on.

What's your favorite way to rest? (And do not say going out for a run because that is not resting!)

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