linger
Well I did it. I asked for a vacation. A last minute vacation, at that. It was either "Give me 2 days of vacation" or "See ya in a month after a stint in the hospital." Yeah, it was that bad.
Last week was full of despair. Like deep despair. If you'd asked me why I would have told you I was just overwhelmed by work and school. But I think it goes deeper than that. To where, I'm not really sure right now and I don't think I'll be any closer to knowing by the end of this post. Especially since that's not its point. At least not that I know of.
So today is day one of my brief 5 day summer vacation for which I am ever so thankful. Yeah, there might be more work waiting for me when I return on Monday, but at this point it didn't matter. I needed my wings cut free for a bit.
The back cover of my favorite magazine. The only one I refuse to destroy, unlike every other magazine that crosses my path.
I slept in a little bit but not too much because I didn't want to just sleep my day away. I ate outside and balanced my budget. Get the stuff that stresses me out of the way first, right? And then I fixed a cup of coffee and sat down to write in the beautiful 70 degree weather before it gets too hot and miserable. I was just about to write about how calm and serene it was with the birds chirping with the dog curled up next to my chair, but then she started barking like a maniac and kinda ruined that vibe. That's ok. She's inside now.
Just chillaxin in the shade on this gorgeous morning.
Anyway, I'm planning on writing this morning to kick off vacation and then hopefully again on Sunday afternoon to wrap things up. But I'm not making any promises about Sunday. You know how I am with that.
My plans for vacation? Well Katie, Matt, and Celeste arrive Friday morning to stay for the weekend, so I have some things that I need and want to get done before then. I need to clean my bathroom, clean the basement, and vacuum. I think I'll save those tasks for tomorrow. Or maybe do just one today. But for the most part my plan for today is to do all the things I've been wanting to do but just haven't had time:
Blog
Tear up magazines
Organize torn up magazines
Make at least one collage
Go to Home Goods
Go to Michaels
Go to Kohl's
Sit outside as much as possible
Take pictures
Read
But not try to do too much at the same time. All before 5pm. I could probably wait and do Michaels and Home Goods with my sister. She'd actually probably like that. So maybe those will wait until the weekend.
I do realize that I missed out on blogging last weekend so I missed a few things that I wanted to share. Some victories.
Friends wading the the reservoir.
Ya'll know that I don't have a lot of friends. And that I've disengaged from social media. Well one of the other moms from Skylar's Girl Scout Troop reached out to see if we wanted to go for a hike. I was so surprised and excited and of course I said yes. Then I got anxious and nervous and scared. Then the weather was iffy and it would have been really easy to cancel, but we said lets try anyway and I am SO GLAD we did. It was a lovely 3 hours. A short hike to the reservoir and then a few hours playing by the water. The hike back was a bit hot, but it was a really great time. So lets talk victories:
Made plans with a friend
Followed through with plans
Got to know said friend better
Spent time with my daughter making memories
Got some sun and fresh air
Got my body moving
Went to get ice cream afterwards with Skylar...I even got 2 scoops instead of just one
Took a dip IN THE POOL
We're talking friendships, ice cream, and bathing suits all in one day. Talk about facing and overcoming fears, guys. Sunday was one for the books.
Getting ice cream at the Firehouse Creamery in downtown Sykesville after our Sunday adventures.
And it was really sweet to see Skylar playing with friends and making plans to hang out again. I just loved every minute of it and I'm so glad I didn't back out. Take that, social anxiety.
There's more to talk about. School. Memory loss from ECT. Rapid cycling bipolar disorder. I could explain exactly why work has been so overwhelming. And why I have to be done my day by 5. All that stuff that makes life messy and hard. But I think I'm going to leave this post on a positive note.
Sunday was awesome. I landed myself a 5 day vacation. I get to unwind, even if it's just in my backyard. I get to see family. I get to make art. I get to soak in the sun and leave work until Monday.
And on Monday I get to hand off some of the extra work I've been covering and see SOMER!!!!! So that makes going back to work after a vacation just a bit easier.
The truth is, I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring or what will happen 17 minutes from now. But I'm going to try to enjoy the moment and not let anything steal my joy over the next 5 days. So don't even think about it ;-)