Ben is in Disney World right now, and it is hard not to be jealous (even though we made a good choice when we decided to stay home). There is no snow at Disney World, for one thing. No one is asking him what's for dinner, and none of our kids need rides to their million-dollar activities, either.
GAH.
(srsly we made the right choice to not go with him because everyone has stuff going on, from finals to a spelling bee to specials practice at dance to the first week of class, but also FOMO)
I need more of this energy
Today I want to tackle unsolved problem number 4 from Monday's rant:
4. Never being off duty Tuesday-Thursday. People's schedules are a mess, and there is often a third dinner shift happening at 9pm, which means I am working as a mom from 6:40 when Minnie wakes up until 10pm and have zero time to relax. ZERO.
First of all, you guys. NEVER being off duty is not accurate. More accurate to say my momming shift is longer than usual when Ben is out of town, and I am looking for ways to add more fun and relaxation into a busy time of the week.
Next, it's not accurate to say I have ZERO time for relaxation. That's not a helpful frame-- I would like to find more opportunities to relax and enjoy myself mid-week.
LIKE READING IN BED, which I cannot do on Wednesday morning, but probably COULD do on Wednesday night. I bought some vanilla sleepytime tea to make this happen.
For the rest of the semester, I am going to have a Wednesday reset which should include:
at least 10 minutes of reading in bed
an outfit I love for campus
a fancy coffee
a show I want to watch at night that I maybe even stay awake for
something fun to make Wednesday a little midweek treat
lunch with a friend
coffee with a friend
a walk to the lake
a visit to the campus art museum
a new skincare product
a walk n talk
an after dinner treat
an extra yoga session
a new release book for my Kindle
TINY THINGS, is what I am saying
This particular week, I have given myself the gift of a slow ramp up to the beginning of the semester. We started the semester on a Tuesday, which interrupted the lecture/discussion flow in both of my classes (some kids had a Monday discussion that didn't happen; no Monday lecture) SO both classes have an online module 0, and we start meeting F2F next week. I AM A GENIUS.
(ALSO, I aim for four 20-minute weight lifting sessions a week and three 10-minute yoga flows, and I really like to do them the first few days of the week. BUT ALSO. I think I will have a better chance of leaving the house by 8 on Wednesdays if I do NOT do weights or morning yoga. Maybe I can do yoga at night on Wednesdays, and I will just make Friday a weight day instead of Wednesday. This bothers the rigid part of me who wants to do things early in the week, but I think it's the best choice for now.
I am going to walk right by a sandwich shop on the way to my car on campus, so I think I have solved the Wednesday after school snack dilemma.
I am also going to walk Annabel and listen to a podcast the second I get home, even if the house is still trashed from the morning. A little walk (even on the very coldest day) always makes me feel happier.
Is Ben at Disney World by himself?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a midweek reset, and I think it's a really great way to break up that rough stretch in the week. Tiny treats to look forward to - great idea. I personally love little treats that are sprinkled throughout the week, they really make the day so much better.
He's at a conference :)
DeleteThis reminds me a lot of something I read in Laura Vanderkam's substance a month or two ago: rest now is not less valuable than rest at the end of the week. I feel like I often want to have checked off all the things before resting, but I like remembering that rest might be even more valuable in the midst of all the things you still have to do.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Wednesday evenings might be busy (reading, yoga, TV or movie) but if you can make all of that happen without overloading yourself, DO IT. Also, I love the idea of you walking Annabelle before tackling the (potential) mess. So many little things to look forward to. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah, I feel your pain. Tony travels a lot, and he is actually in Orlando this week.
ReplyDeleteMid week reset is great. I read in bed after the kids go to bed at 7:30, that is a hard line for me. But they are still small, 6 and 8… and don’t have activities past 5:30
Oh this is Daria
DeleteI love this! Thursdays used to be really hard days for me, and I would write out lists of things like this that I could do to make more pleasurable. I hope some of these things work! And, yes I can see why you'd have a little FOMO about Disneyworld, sigh.
ReplyDeleteI really love that the first thing I do when I come home from work is walk the dog. It really does make me slow down and just enjoy the time with her.
ReplyDeleteI love all of your tiny treats for Wednesday... I hope you're able to loop them into your day. Tippy-toe Annabelle is too, too cute!
ReplyDeleteI love this so much! These little treats at the end of the day or throughout the day are so important, especially when you have to be ON so much with work and kiddos!
ReplyDelete