Monday, December 12, 2011

Why Everyone Needs a Recharge Retreat

As you all may have guessed from my lack of attention here, I hit a BIG wall for the better part of November. While I thought October was the month to just "get through" with midterms and projects and commitments (oh my!), November was a much bigger monster than I imagined.

I felt like this semester was progressing much quicker, with much more work and with little time to stop and take a breath let alone sit down. In addition to all of the school commitments, did I mention I was training for and completed my second half marathon?

Completing this last committment, which had been so time consuming and physically draining, may have been just the catalyst I needed to slow down for a bit. If I had to put my finger on it, I'd say my "recharge retreat" began at about 10:00am post-race with this giant mimosa:
In the weeks that followed I played the "I just ran a half marathon" card for everything it was worth. While my body may have paid the price, I realized how time consuming filling every hour of my day had been. I experienced what a luxury it was to go home after work or school instead of schlepping it to the gym or feeling guilty about not doing so (which is equally exhausting).

I became a human again. I went home for Thanksgiving and played with my nieces.
(cheese!)

I ate. I drank. I was merry. I sat on the couch and watched TV before 10:00pm.

And soon, twas the season to be decorated. So I decorated:

And decorated:

And decorated (ok, so I indulged in the holiday spirit, sue me):

And filled the apartment with holiday smells:

Yes, my waist line may have suffered these last 3 weeks, and my 3 mile run yesterday may have felt like 6 7 8 5. But more importantly, I finally felt rested, charged and like the relaxed version of myself that I knew existed deep down.

So when time is short and the to-do list is not, try to remember to treat yourself to a recharge retreat. Doing things because you want to and not because you have to will make you more of a joy to live with (I believe I have someone who can attest to this).

Just know, when all is said and done, you may have to pull out the stretchy pants..