Day 2 – On a Break.

No no, not the kind of break you are thinking about. Not the ‘Friends’ kind of break. 

I’m talking about taking a break from regular, hectic life. One of things I haven’t had in the last few months, actually last 2-3 years,  is a proper break, a holiday.

Some of you might have known that the last 2-3 years have been tough on me, on the personal front. The feeling I’ve been left with is being on a non-stop emotional treadmill, where my mind is too exhausted to think. Where I’m constantly worried, constantly jittery. I wake up at 5 without an alarm, can’t seem to relax or take it easy. It hasn’t helped that eveything does land on one’s plate at the same time. I’ve been left with very little time to take a break. I have taken breaks from work but they have invariably involved traveling to India and haven’t constituted a proper break.

This has been a blessing and a curse in many ways. Being busy beyond words meant that I didn’t get much time to brood over stuff and get depressed, however it also left me mentally and physically exhausted.

We have just completed a rather taxing phase at work and that kind of, brought home to me that I need a break. A break where I do as little as possible. With everything else going on, daughter has also been one of the affected parties; I’ve had very little quality time to spend with her. Last summer whizzed past with work, her work (she was preparing for her 11 plus and I must have been one of mums who didn’t do much work with her). I feel like I spent very little time with her

Given how busy I’d been, it was rather easy to come to the decision that I need a break. Daughter’s October half term seemed perfect. Husband was in India, and daughter had a half term break. It made perfect sense that I’d take a week off from work and spend time at home with her. 

And so it was decided. 

Daughter and I spent the time doing just about nothing or whatever she and I fancied. She had some friends over on some days. We went shopping for her residential trip on some days. We baked fun stuff, made cool stuff ( like homemade lip gloss), watched some TV ( The Great British Bake off! and Victorian Slum – if any of you have seen it, do share how you found it). But mainly we did nothing much. A week which was agenda-less. I would read until late in the night, laze around, just relax. While it wasn’t all pure ‘me time’, I did get a lot of time to do what I pleased. From reading through the night to putting together a terrarium.

The best part for me was the feeling of relaxation. Something I had almost forgotten about. That feeling of not working to a plan, or a schedule, not having the flexibility to let things go. Not do things in an order, just going with the flow. It was pure bliss. The kind of joy I had completely lost touch with. And of course like all good things, it came to an end.

While the break came to an end, what has remained is the feeling of rejuvenation, that feeling of being recharged. Though I’m back at work now, I’m much more relaxed, I feel happier. The difference that one week has made is unbelievable. It leaves me with the resolve to take a few more breaks of this sort every now and again. I don’t need a fancy holiday or anything like that, all I need is just some time doing something relaxing, even if it is lounging on the sofa reading a book.

The memories of the last week would last me a while and it has also prompted me to apply for another weeks’ leave in a few weeks time. After all, we can’t discard learnings of this sort, can we? 

P.S. This marathon is another fun side-effect of the break 🙂 I’m sure I would have missed the FB update had I not been at home 🙂 One more reason to schedule more breaks in my life!