Do You Enjoy Your Time Off?

When I have time off, I don't know what to do with myself.  I could do a number of things:

1.  I could catch up on endless chores
2.  I could do go somewhere to shop, browse, eat out, socialize
3.  I could be a slug and lay on the bed watching a Cold Case marathon
4.  I could waste time on the internet reading the news, facebook, etc.
5.  I could spend time on a hobby like writing my book, taking an ecourse
6. I could do something that involves fitness

Or I could do a little bit of all of the above.

I could revolt against myself and find something horrible about each activity:

#1- I could be so involved in chores that I am miserable and resentful, looking forward to my next day back at the office.

#2- I could berate myself for spending too much money.

#3- I could become angry that I accomplished nothing.

#4- More of #3.

#5- I could become engrossed in a hobby and then feel I was ignoring my husband and child.

#6- Work out?  What? ... and accidentally become an exercise addict?
LOL.

What do I usually do on my time off?
I stay up past a normal bedtime then I am tired  and grumpy the next day looking for a nap!

I do enjoy a weekend away from the house when we go on a short road trip visiting family.

Are you too obsessed with your time off?
Do you have a live-like-vacation attitude on your time off?

Weekends Are Made for Nothing

Okay, disclaimer here:  I know not everyone gets the weekend off.  Many workers get their time off during the week.  Many people work more than one job.  I remember those days when I did it, too.  I would have to fight tooth and nail to request time off on holidays so I could travel to my parents' house to actually spend time with family.

And most of the time our society has regulated the work week to forty hours providing extra compensation for the necessary overtime and folks have two days off each week.  Sometimes.....  I guess that's why I have a Live Like Vacation Blog.  Life has become complicated and we forgot how to rest.

Back to my topic:

Weekends are made for nothing.  Well, I just laughed out loud at myself typing this.  Saturday just went by and I complained all day to myself that this was the pits.

Thinking back to my week in Florida, we focused on nothing.  Our minds were clear of multitasking thoughts.  We sat around much of the time and we made spur of the moment decisions when we wanted to do something.

That doesn't seem to happen on the weekends.
Grr.....I'm still working on it.  I guess I have to tweak this and that's the point of the blog.  I can write about it here and make changes in my schedule.

Every weekend we do the major shopping trip.  I used to like it.  But. .. Here's a secret. I like going alone.  I like getting lost in my own little world of browsing and looking at new items I might want to try.  But Hubby and I have different likes and he is so much better at picking out meat and comparing meat prices.

Shopping is part of the errand/chore routine that occupies people's time off.  Then there is the lawn, yard work, and the extra cleaning to get the dust balls that we walked by all week in the hallway.  You know what I mean.

And son plays a sport.  Right now it's only one sport, whew.  I don't know what else he is interested in at this point, but we do CYO basketball and all the games are on Sunday.  Of course that's perfect.  An hour or so after church he plays a game and Sunday is the best time of the week.

And then there's the Sabbath practice.  We are commanded by God to keep holy the Sabbath.  We tend to get a little fuzzy on that when he cram so much in the weekend.

Since I am Catholic, I will refer to the catechism because it truly reflects the genius of God's commandment.  And, well, God knows what he's doing and it clearly makes sense as to what our needs are.

I pasted the section below and put it in bold.  Here are some quick bullet points:
1. The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and Hallowed it:  So should we.
2. There is an irrevocable covenant with Israel regarding the release from bondage in Eygpt and God's trust that we would honor it.
3. Even God rested and was refreshed so what an important example it is for us. Should we be completely exhausted and wiped out during the time of rest, or should we look forward to it as a time of joyful reflection and recreation?
4. Christ declares the Sabbath for doing good, rather than harm. Do we sometimes warp the idea of "doing good?"  Do we over-do activities as we try to finish our work?  I admit, my work creeps in to the weekend and robs me of a fuller Sabbath.  It seems as if the Sabbath gets the minimum.

ARTICLE 3
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.⁹⁰The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.⁹¹

* I. THE SABBATH DAY

2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."⁹²

2169 In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."⁹³

2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."⁹⁴

2171 God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant.⁹⁵ The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.

2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed."⁹⁶ The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.⁹⁷

2173 The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this day.⁹⁸ He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath."⁹⁹ With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing.¹⁰⁰ The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God.¹⁰¹ "The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."¹⁰²

^{And a little farther down in the catechism this common sense practice is reiterated. Some very devout Christians will not even shop or go out on the Sabbath day because that forces others to also work.}

2184 Just as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done,"¹²¹ human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.¹²²

In short, the weekends should be made for nothing that distracts us from what is important in the bigger picture of life.  This idea can change or inspire how to conduct ourselves during our time off.

Again, this is another reminder that we can do all our work and play in a mindless manner, or we can be mindful.

One Month Progress Report

It hasn't been quite a month yet, but we did leave for vacation Feb. 20th, and today is March 20th.  Once I completed the 2 week pre-vacation preparations, I was ready to start our trip to Florida.

I have made a small dent in my procrastination since I returned as this was a goal of mine.  To live like vacation, I wanted to do more than get through each day.  I want to add new approaches to my business and I want my home life to be more relaxed, yet accomplished, rather than a home being a drop off point where I just lay around in exhaustion with no real motivation to do things besides, well, lay around.  (How'd you like that wild run on sentence.  That run on sentence is an example of the run on life.  This is so funny I am not changing it.  Nope. No editing. )

My mind was generally in "sit and mope" mood, and usually in front of Facebook.  What a waste of time.  I used to tell myself I was resting, then the hours flew by.  Like I said.  What a waste.

More on this later......I have to get ready for the day.

***********I'm back **************

The day is over.  Work was steady and lunch was at 3:20!  But it was not the brain drain I usually feel.  I didn't let myself get worked up.  I took the break when it came up and I was ready for the rest of my afternoon.

I am going to bed by 9:30 tonight.  I am sticking to the sleep routine.  It has proven to be a smart change.  I had my relapse and, wow, what a difference.

And, another observation:  When I eat carbs or sugar, my sleep is disrupted as well.  So, diet and sleep are your two very important partners in the Live Like Vacation Mind-Set.  In fact, they are baseline.

I haven't done any real recreational things that are "vacation like" or renewing.  That is one criticism I have for myself.  I could blame the weather.  But I can't change the weather.

Another criticism:  I didn't exercise enough in the last 2 weeks.

Your Live Like Vacation plan doesn't have to be exactly like mine, but you have to decide what goals matter to you.

What things do you want to get away from when you go on vacation?
Work chaos?
Disruptions?
Family fighting?
Everything in the house that's broken?

What are your favorite things about vacation?
Ahhhhh......Sleep,....quiet.......leisure activities.......someone else cooking for you.........

Keep it a work in progress. But feel good as you do it.

You Do Not Have to Feel Ruffled All Day Long

Have you ever had that ruffled feeling?  You could feel overwhelmed, rushed, and easily agitated.  You can feel like you are unproductive, spinning your wheels and putting out fires.

It's a long day when you feel that way.

 photo courtesy of Redwall Cookbook

What makes it worse is the desire to find comfort in food.  Eating on the run is an example.  Who doesn't dash over to the snack machine in search of a tasty pleasure to help you feel better about the day? The sad part is that you don't feel better, you feel worse.  This just spirals in a negative manner.

Just getting through the day seems to be a major goal with mugs and mugs of hot coffee or endless caffeinated soft drinks.  And the carby comfort foods...Oh boy.

I noticed with an authentically restful sleeping routine, (ARSR) I don't have food cravings.  Actually the midday hunger is easy to appease and then I go right back to my work.

This is just one of the hidden rollover benefits of good sleep.

The Domino Effect begins with good sleep!

Keep the Vacation-Feel......