April 13, 2020 - 213 - "Time Off For Good Behavior"

Too Much Work and Not Enough Play

     ...would make for a very long Covid-19 captivity.


     It's actually made the past 200-ish days seem pretty long.  The cool thing about tough goals is that it makes you stretch to do stuff you didn't know you could accomplish.  

     The crappy part is it turns a person into a boring drone.  In this case, a creative drone, but a drone nonetheless.  It's what I really want to do so it mostly felt good to get something (anything on some days) posted.  But I was getting pretty dang driven and boring.

Nothing Like a Pandemic to Provide More Time

     So, hey, this crisis has a silver lining!  I guess.  I sure wouldn't have voted for it, if given the choice, but I'm trying really hard to make some lemonade out of all these huge piles of lemons.


    I got back from my last trip on Sunday.  Normally that 'last' would just mean:  the most recent.  Right now 'last' is a little more ominous, meaning:  last for the foreseeable future, which is at the very least, six months.  

     So...I figured I should start trying to set up a schedule from Week 1.  (Begin as you mean to go on. -Charles H. Spurgeon) 

     I set up a schedule, made all sorts of plans, and set a ton of goals.  (More about that on Friday.)  But what I didn't want to do is make all the days the same with nothing but doggedly ticking off to-dos filling up every day.

    A couple of years ago I wouldn't have seen this as even a remote possibility.  Procrastination was more my problem for most of my life, but somewhere along the way I have gotten kind of weirdly driven about stuff.  

    Now I gotta work at...not working.  

Vive Le Week-end!

     Since Michael and I aren't working regular hours, or even irregular hours, and since businesses are all closed,... it's hard to even recognize the weekend when it shows up.   

     So my biggest goal the first week was to set up some real time off.  Not a ton of time...I mean we're doing stuff we choose to do over here, it's not torture or anything, but time without deadlines, and time for brains to recharge, is definitely in order.

    My goal was to have Saturday and Sunday's posts set up before noon on Saturday.  Then to  do nothing the rest of the weekend.  (Okay, yeah,  except keep my daily Spanish lesson streak going on Duolingo.  Doing the minimum only takes about ten minutes.  And get the LISS (Low Intensity Steady State aka:  Walking) part of my exercise in.)

Biggest Win So Far

     

Ella in a purring ball of relaxation is an 

excellent sleep aid.  

     I'm excited to say that I did a lot of nothin' this weekend.  A lot of lazing around.  I read books, sat outside on the patio, watched a movie with Michael, went for walks, did two Zoom chats with friends (nearly felt like real-deal socializing!), ordered food from a local restaurant, and of course, took a few naps and 'napitations' with Miss Ella.  

    Then, on Sunday I made the most of the beautiful morning by sitting in the hot tub reading a book...for hours.  (One of my favorite things in life, that I rarely fit in anymore.  We have "hot tub happy hours" occasionally together, but for me just to sit there and read is a big win.  (See fabulous photo expose' below!)

    I don't like to brag, but...I was in there sooo long that the jets timed out.  (I think that happens after about two hours.  It hasn't happened to me in ages.)

Rested,  Renewed,  Re-inspired

     I was excited to get back to my goals, and dreams, and schemes this morning, and even planned this next week's posts in advance. 

     (!!!!!!)

     I have never, ever, done that.  Wow!  I'll actually have a little time to think about what I might say in advance.  

     Maybe even edit a little.  Okay, don't hold your breath on that one.  

I'm kind of digging these Facetime and Zoom chats.
(This was as everyone hung up and our faces suddenly
flashed on the screen.  Argh!  Surprise!)

Oh hot tub.  I've missed you so!

It didn't hurt that it was a really pretty weekend.  (View from the tub.
Everything is getting all green again.  Sigh.)

Lunch on the patio too.  I was making the most of all that pretty weather...
which is good, 'cause it got chilly again today!  Yes.  That's a jumbo
Costco corn dog.  I gained almost 3 pounds this week.  (At this
rate I won't be able to get out of the house when the isolation
thing ends.)

This movie never, ever, disappoints.  It's just perfect.

One of our walks was out near Benbrook on a remote part of the Trinity Trails.  Plenty of social distancing...and Bonus:  Bluebonnets!

We, naturally, had to sing "Gulf Coast Highway":

"This is the only place on earth bluebonnets grow.

Once a year they come and go, 

at this old house here by the road."

          -Written by: Danny Flowers, James Brown, Nanci Griffith

     I hope you had a great weekend, and have just the right mix of rest and challenge built into this upcoming week!

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"Rest and be thankful."

-William Wordsworth

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"There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest.  Use both and overlook neither." 

-Alan Cohen

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"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."

-Ovid

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