Remember YOU

Right before Thanksgiving rolled around, I was elated, half of me looking on the 4 days I had off as "heaven".  I couldn't wait for a weekend that allowed me extra time off to recharge my battery.  Now, how much "recharging" did I do?  Honestly, not as much as I'd hoped.  Sunday felt like a bonus day, which was nice, but Thursday - Saturday were filled with family, shopping, and generally catching up / going out with friends I hadn't seen in a while.

The other half of me was elated about the onset of Thanksgiving because I knew that once the Monday after the holiday hit, I was slammed with activity.  The reality became that I did not have one day off for 2 straight weeks, and not 1 night off any weeknight during that same time.  In fact, I was SO productive and working SO hard that by the 10th day in (or Wednesday), I was so burnt out that I didn't know if I could even go into work.  I did.  But it was exhausting.

That's when I decided to "X" off my Sunday.  I put a huge X through my calendar, wrote on top of it "recovery and relationship" day, and told my boyfriend that I was blocking off the whole day to stay home, recoop, and hang out with him.  Part of the two-week craziness included that I had neglected the very person I loved and with whom I was living.  There were days I came home to him passed out on the couch having tried to stay up and wait for me.  I'm only 27 and I looked at that and thought "Absolutely not".  I will not be that person who works so hard she is not home.  Not a chance.

So, there began today. I even cancelled a shopping date with a friend of mine to make today's "recovery and relationship" day possible.  I explained that I knew I was being a crappy friend, but I would be an even worse one if I ran myself to a point of exhaustion. 

And there started my Sunday.  On the couch, breakfast with the boy, and Christmas movies, laundry, and a bit of light cooking for the week.  Am I totally revived and ready to start the week?  Not at all.  But I am MUCH better off than I was.  I will be "X" ing off a few more days this month just for the very same reason.  Remember to do the same.  It may put a little more on your plate the other days of the week, but YOU DESERVE to recharge yourself, or you will not be any good to anyone.