What A Difference A Day Off Makes...

As we begin each day, many of us have exceedingly high hopes of getting a lot done or realizing some sort of personal goal - I even create lists to help give me the illustion that I'm organized, because I most certainly am not - and, when the day in question happens to be a day off from work, we may find ourselves trying to compromise between getting something accomplished or trying to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

Today my hopes of decluttering my art space were dashed when I realized my back was so stiff and so tight that bending and lifting boxes were out of the question; even sitting, standing and walking proved to be difficult, so I was barely able to cross off even the simplest of chores: Washing dishes took a little longer; I did one small load of laundry and hung them out on the line to dry instead of using the dryer, which took more effort than usual; and I eventually took some Bufferin so I could go outside for a little while and cut back some huge weeds and old stalks of kale that had gone to seed and were crushing and crowding my rather large bed of mint. And it was such a nice day, too - I could have gone for a walk, or done more to organize my creative area - but it's not worth worrying about now.

Still, waking up with a temporarily bad back is no excuse for not doing anything, so I was able to work on a few handcrafted thank-you cards and create some jewelry for a couple of upcoming birthdays, and, well, it's nice to make things for other people and it was also quality time spent... with myself!

So treasure your "alone time." Whether or not you accomplish anything, you should feel yourself start to relax a little, and that's always good for your health!