I took a nap tonight. While I realize this is not breaking news, doing so was really a revelation for me. Like most of us, my life is filled to the brim and my to-do list is longer than I am tall, so I've been burning the proverbial candle at both ends all year long. And it's only mid-May.
Today, as I sat in the waiting room of my doctor's office, I realized that I'm just exhausted, and trying to keep up with everything was becoming increasingly impossible due to said exhaustion. So, while I was strategizing how to get everything done so that everyone around me would be happy, I realized that doing so would make me immensely unhappy, because all I really wanted to do was lay down and take a nap.
So I did. And it was good. And the world didn't stop turning, and my business didn't go under, and my family didn't mind at all (they see more clearly than I do that I'm exhausted and burned out).
The concept of taking that nap didn't come from my own lightbulb-over-the-head moment, though. I actually read somewhere something about taking care of yourself to better take care of others. And while I'm too tired these days to remember where I read it, the author made compelling arguments for putting yourself first, and they stuck in my head. So much so that I'm really planning to make some major changes so that I can take back a little bit of my life, while still running a successful and growing business, and pay some attention to my husband and pups as well. And I really, really want to make time for blogging. I miss writing on my blogs. I miss reading blogs regularly (skimming while feeling guilty for spending the time doing even that is my current mode). I'm ready to get out of survival mode and reclaim living mode.
So while I don't expect to want (or hopefully need) to take a daily nap, when my body is begging for one, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'd love to hear if you nap - tell me in the comments!
xo
d.
photo via unknown - let me know if you know it's origin!
