I read this Tumblr post on Pinterest yesterday morning. Someone was trying to be motivating, starting with ‘Never have a zero day; read one page, or write one line’ etc etc.
And I was like, You know what? Screw this. I’m having a zero day.
It’s been a busy term (term three seems to always be busiest at this school), and our family has had an unusually proportion of Very Emotionally Intense Events throughout August/September.
And then I had a major editing project that I was already late on, so I didn’t exactly stop when I hit school holidays.
But I finished the editing project on Wed night, and although I have another Even Bigger Editing Project still on my desk, I have another couple of weeks on it before it’s due. The Inklets are behind schedule… but if I just work on semester 1 for 2021 at the moment, I’ll be back on track in another week, well and truly in time to order print proof copies on the 19th when I’m scheduled to order print proofs of another couple of Inkprint titles.
So yes: I decided to have a zero day.
I dropped my son to horse riding camp at 9am. I played Pokemon GO on the way home, including a quick walk around the block before entering my house. I took Spousal Person and daughter back to watch son at horse riding (I’d gotten to see him On Horse in January, but he was desperate to show Dad as well). I came home and showered and napped for 2.5 hours, and lay in bed just *being* for another thirty minutes, and then browsed Pinterest for a bit. I served leftovers for dinner. I played another hour of Pokemon GO in the evening on the couch.
And you know what?
Even though we didn’t get to sleep until 1am because Spousal Person was packing for a hiking trip (and we had to leave at 730am to drop him off…), I feel so much better today.
Better enough that I’ve actually looked at my diary/to-do list. That I’ve played and laughed and hung out with the kids. That I’ve achieved errands and socialised with family.
I still have a horrific list of Things That Must Be Done Soon, and heck, you are NOT invited to my house right now because it is a DISASTER (Actually, looking around, it’s mostly just the kitchen and upstairs that are bad. The living area is actually not too terrible at all. Huh.), but it turns out, taking a zero day was really what I needed.
This isn’t a surprise, really: I work and read and write and cook and clean and just generally LIVE in boom-and-bust cycles*. So it’s not a shock. It’s just… nice. I’m grateful. I’m feeling better today. And, in a place where I’m still gradually gluing myself back together again after last year, it feels like I’ve reached another lil milestone of healing.
So, if you need rest, may you find it too. May you find peace somewhere in your life today, in your relationships, in your relationship with yourself – and if you need it, maybe take a zero day soon.
<3 <3 <3
*One of the many features of My Life that contribute to my suspicion that I actually have “female” ADHD.