What do you do to relax?
These past two years I feel like I have forgotten how to relax. It reminds me a little of grad school and how afterwards, I had to spend like 2-3 years learning how to enjoy time off. I was deliberate in doing things that made me slow down. For example, I lived about a mile from work and could easily drive or bike, but most of the time I chose to walk because the walk was just lovely. I also joined a book club. And, I started biking with a group of friends. I did some other fun things like hiking and camping around the PNW where we had just moved to.
Right now, I am coming off of probably the hardest two year stretch of my life. I need down time more than ever. Except, we still aren't back to normal - so still very difficult to plan things or find extra time. I do have a lighter teaching load in the spring and summer. Also, I'm not traveling at all for work (yay)! So there is some potential there.
Here are some things I do to relax:
- Watch TV (this is so rare these days!). We like light things like sketch comedy shows (e.g. Saturday Night Live), Curb Your Enthusiasm, Schitt's Creek, etc.
- Read (I joined a book club about a year before the pandemic and still go sometimes). My favorite thing in the summer was to read in the hammock outside on Sunday afternoon.
- Have friends over. We have kept doing this despite the pandemic, although we cancel a lot due to various sniffles or quarantines. It is so huge to be able to laugh with friends right now.
- "Mom" dates - we go out to an outdoor restaurant and have drinks and chit chat. These are usually spontaneous because none of us can ever plan anything anymore.
- "staycation" - except staying home doesn't work at all for us so we compromise and take really short trips and spend more $$ on a really fancy place to stay (since we aren't flying or staying long) and that makes it extra fun. Hence the place in Wisconsin with a tree house and kayaks the place in the Ozarks with a water-side balcony and a pool and the super cute craftsman in Des Moines with the retro theme.
- Get a massage. I do this routinely anyway because of my dystonia but it's officially for relaxing too. The great thing is my new massage therapist is right next to the most amazing pie shop and a stationary store - my version of heaven.
- Do nothing. Sometimes I just lie on the floor while the Studly Hubby is putting PJs on the kids and I do absolutely nothing. It's beautiful.
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