I’ve been busy lately. And what I really need is a long vacation. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen soon. You know when you feel so tired—even when you’ve been getting enough sleep—that you just want to cry? That’s how I felt last Friday…and yet, I knew I didn’t have a restful weekend to look forward to, since I had a book signing on Friday night, a panel at a Teens Turning Green Conference on Saturday, and a book signing at the NYC Grows Festival at Union Square (rain or shine) on Sunday. Whew.
So I canceled my Friday-afternoon meeting and did something I only do when it’s absolutely necessary: recharged my batteries with a nap. But not just any nap, a nap in my favorite place. There’s a sleeping porch right off my bedroom. It’s got a comfy, double-wide chaise lounge and a shaded roof. Unfortunately, there is a tribe of carpenter bees who are constantly chewing holes up there and spewing sawdust and carpenter bee poop all over my chaise. So I put a sheet over all that, and brought out my big down comforter and a pillow. The sun was shining, but it was deliciously cool outside. The birds were singing, but not too loud. The guinea hens were quiet…for once! Lucia came out to snuggle for three minutes, and then went to her own bed for her own nap. Before you know it, I was in a deep sleep, plugging in to the universal energy grid to recharge my internal batteries.
The sleepy view from my sleeping porch.
I woke up, had my afternoon coffee, and headed to the Moravian Bookshop in Bethlehem, PA—which is the OLDEST CONTINUALLY OPERATING BOOK STORE IN THE WORLD (since 1745). Isn’t that so cool? It’s also a favorite place of mine. And then, I saw some of my favorite people. Old friends. New friends. People who love my blog. People who love the planet and their families so much that they want to do the right thing and learn about organic.
We were then fortunate enough to be invited to the house of some friends who live nearby. He makes the absolutely most amazingly delicious organic pizza in his wood-fired oven. And she, a wonderful painter, made a gorgeous chocolate cake, which looked nothing like the cake I made last week—it looked perfect.
And so, my batteries were restored by a series of restorative acts in a few of my favorite places.
How do you restore your batteries? And what’s your favorite place?
Sometimes I am so tired I can’t sleep ( too much on my mind)! But for sure I need to recharge! What ALWAYS helps me is to go to my harp and play soothing music. It has a very calming effect and having to concentrate on something other than the ‘things of this world’ I am magically transported to another place for a time. On nice day’s… I even take it outside and the birds and the wind play with me!
POOF! Ok back to work…….
My favorite way to recharge–sitting on the couch with lots of blankets and a hot water bottle and lots and lots of magazines, preferably non-serious ones with lots of pictures. And then a nap 🙂
Birdsong and the sounds of lapping water…even on a CD while I’m working.
I stay in my pj’s all day, eat when I want, sleep when I want, (since I am not a napper, naps give me headaches) this is rare. I watch tv, listen to classical music, take out old photos and reminisce, pamper myself, take walks, bake something that I had been meaning to for some time, read the newspaper cover to cover, read magazines I got months earlier, call old friends and family and chat, and just take time to sit quietly with a nice pot of herbal tea and eat whatever I baked. Then I’m refreshed enough to start all over again.
Home is my favorite place (we call it ‘the spa’) to re-charge with my ‘boys’ husband and dog. Having no agenda, doing whatever I want, whenever I want. Internet searching, catching up on my favorite sites, reading a real book, watching food channel. That’s my recharge…I have an uncovered porch but love the idea of outside…reading through you blog, I was there with you. Thanks for a mini-moment today at work.
I find this so inspiring. Naps. Sleep. Yum. I had the same moment (mine was on Saturday). I’d had a whirlwind 36 hours that included flying to (and returning from) the west coast in a single day. I was so depleted that I decided to skip my favorite Saturday morning workout and (gasp!) stay in bed. I slept. And I slept. And I slept. And when I woke up, my little girl was standing by the side of my bed with a smile and a cup of tea and I sighed. Restored by the sleep … and by the sight of what really mattered.
During the spring and summer seasons, I go to the beach to restore my batteries. During the Fall and Winter seasons, I go window shopping with girlfriends. I love hanging out and taking in the sights. I don’t have a favorite place to go to, because in NY anywhere could be my favorite : ).
I will go for a walk (especially if the weather is clear) and take my Rosary with me. I will pray and meditate while walking. There is a park not far from where I live. In the past, I would go down to the park to walk. Lately, I have gone for three laps around the block from where I live. More convenient and not having to deal with the traffic in trying to get to the park.
If I am really tired, I will fall asleep on the couch in the living room and recharge my batteries in that fashion.
Some days, weather permitting, I will take my camera and go to the same park and shoot pictures of the outdoors, etc.
One thing I enjoy is having a cup of decaf coffee in the morning and watch the sun come up over the horizon.
…relocated, staying with family and currently without a favorite place. I’ve been borrowing my mother-in-law’s screened in porch for yoga and kitchen for cooking, my sister’s spare bedroom to paint and my grandmother’s house to unwind. I often dream of my future home and garden and I frequently find solace in a cup of coffee.
I love waking up on a Saturday morning with nothing to do and no place to be. On these days, I have a fresh pot of coffee brewing, pancakes from scratch on the grittle, and of course a long walk with my dog. If I decide to change out of PJ’s by 7pm…I am refreshed. 🙂
I love that you canceled a meeting to take time for yourself. If I don’t take a nap, which I love, I try to connect with friends. That always seems to recharge my battery and inspire me to keep going.
I run 3 businesses, homeschool my kids and lead two girl scout troops while my husband works full time outside of the home and goes to school full time so I have a couple days a month that I know EXACTLY how that too-tired-to-do-anything feeling is!
My favorite recharger is to sit in the back yard with a fire going in the pit after my husband has grilled something for dinner (no cooking for me!) with my munchkins sitting together on the blanket getting along for a change! I can just stare into the abyss of the fire and relax….now I know what I want to do tonight!!
A shower, water for some reason always recharges me. I live in a NYC apartment, so the shower is the closest most available place where I can get close enough for comfort. I think, the reason for it, is that as I am originally from an island in the middle of the caribbean sea where water is all around, but most importantly when it rains–even in the city–people of all ages come out their houses (in their wore down clothing) to bathe in rain water. Even my childhood pet parrot use to love it! Never before this comment have I made the link between the two. Thanks.