This blog was inspired by one of my roommates. She is what I call, a yes person. What I mean is she never says no, or I don’t have time. She is a people pleaser. And that’s all well and good until it starts to make a person sick. Her boss has her working six days a week and twelve hours a day. And then she goes over to her mom’s house and paints something or fixes something. And everyone knows she’s a good mechanic, so she’s always asked to change oil or fix brakes and a whole array of other tasks. She even found a bunch of abandoned kittens and got up every two hours for weeks to feed them. Only three survived, but that was truly a miracle because they were practically dead when she found them. When they were old enough she gave two of them away and we kept the runt. Her name is Lola, and she is a little devil. You would never know that she was brought back from the brink of death.
Lately I’ve been noticing that my roommate hasn’t been as lively as she usually is. So I told her that she needs a vacation. I reminded her that we all need to balance our lives so that we don’t burn out or get sick. I told her that vacation is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Have you ever heard the saying, “All work and no play makes whomever it is a dull person”? Well sayings catch on for a reason. It’s because they bare a bit of truth. Life can really become dull when we don’t take care of the necessities. And as I have mentioned a couple of times already, it could even make a person very sick or something worse.
This is where being selfish comes in. And I don’t mean the kind of selfishness that hurts other people, I mean the kind of selfishness that cares about how a person feels. We are the only ones who can take care of that department. It is up to each and every one of us to make sure we feel good. In fact, I will go so far as to say it is our duty to keep ourselves well rounded. And that doesn’t mean we don’t do for others or work a lot, it means we take time to do what feels good as well. Before Covid hit I used to take one weekend a month and go somewhere. It didn’t matter if it was a trip to the beach or a visit with a friend or relative, but it had to be away from home. The reason it has to be away from home is because if I stay home I always find something that needs to be done, and it wouldn’t be a rest. Of course it would be nice to take care of the chores around the house, but that stuff will always be there and I can do it when I feel like it. Did you hear that? I said when I feel like it. Not when I have to do it or that I should do it. When I do anything I get myself in a frame of mind that helps make it fun. That way the job gets done faster and I don’t feel any angst while doing it. It’s a little tricky at first when you’re trying to make doing dishes or laundry fun, but it can happen. Have you ever heard the saying, “Whistle while you work”? It works, or you could put some music on and dance while you’re doing the dishes. I know it sounds funny, but that’s the point. You need to get out of your head and find ways to make it fun.
After Covid hit, I stayed home like the rest of the world, But I still found ways to have fun. First of all I don’t listen to news of any kind. It’s just too depressing. I mostly watch comedies. And I started crocheting again. In a year and a half I made twenty five blankets and secretly sent them to friends and relatives. It is fun to surprise people like that. In addition I wrote a lot of blogs which is also fun for me. And I published another book as well. As you can see I keep myself pretty busy, but only with things I love to do.
Now that Covid has lifted it’s restrictions I’m starting to go places again. I took a trip to Laughlin with a couple of friends, and I am going to Las Vegas in August, then I am booked on a three day cruise in October.
You know, I say this in almost every blog I write, “Life is supposed to be fun”. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot to get away for a weekend. You could go camping or get a hotel room near the beach or just take a long drive and see where you end up. The important thing is that you get away from your normal life and do something fun. These are just examples of things you can do, and I’m sure your wheels are turning right now thinking about things you would like to do. You can’t wait until you’re retired to start having fun. You might be too old or sick by then. Now is the time. In fact now is all we have. The past is gone and the future is uncertain. Live now! Have fun as much as possible NOW! Give yourself a break and see the world through rose colored glasses. Make your world exactly that, YOUR WORLD! You deserve to be happy. You are worthy of every good thing this Universe has to offer, and that’s everything. So, as I told my roommate, you need to balance.
Now go out there and show the world what a happy balanced person looks like. And remember there is always great love for you here.
Very Truly Yours,
Deb Mertan