The Beauty of Rest

Are you someone who goes hard, all the time? Wake up - shower, breakfast, coffee (sometimes 3 cups at least, right?), get the kids dressed, fed, and out the door, work all day long (and let’s not forget our multitasking magical powers), leave work and run errands, then home for dinner, laundry, dishes, homework, quality time with your partner, pay bills, get ready for bed, look on Facebook for an hour, pass out…. Sleep & Repeat. And I bet your weekends are just as full with activities, errands, and social time? I only know this because everything I named is literally on my list! This past Friday, I was all set to do all the things after work and then clean out my closet (I’m a complete neat freak and do this on occasion). Then, my boyfriend challenged me to go home and do nothing. Like… literally nothing…. UM. No. Fat chance. But, the more I thought this over, the more I realized what a very real challenge that would be for me. And I am not one to turn down a challenge! So, as he left to go work the night shift, I went home alone. And everything was staring me in the face - dirty dishes, laundry, the fur on the carpet from my Great Dane that hadn’t been vacuumed up all week, and the list goes on. It was so hard, so so hard to avoid eye contact with all of the things that were just sitting there and begging for me to come complete. After all, I’d be crossing things off my to-do list and who doesn’t love to feel accomplished on a Friday night (or maybe that is just me?). I sat down on my couch, turned on Netflix, and started watching a documentary series about God with Morgan Freeman. Maybe it was the margarita in my system, but ten minutes later, and Morgan Freeman had lulled me to sleep with the sound of his deep voice. That was it y’all, I was out, at 7pm! Clearly my body and mind needed some rest, though I had all of the most perfect reasons not to take that time. An hour and a half later, I woke up and realized I was drooling on my pillow (I’m so classy). I did end up putting a few dishes away, but for the rest of the night, I talked to friends, journaled, and watched more TV. I rested, and that was the most beautiful thing I could’ve done, and the most productive for my own sake.