recharged

Last week, I took a few days off for a little girl time at the lake with two of my friends. We had the best time doing nothing.

I read two books, wrote a lot, had some fun with the wilderness playing Wild Kingdom. (I know, totally before your time, but whatev. It was one of my fave shows growing up.) And I worked on my tan. (Which is magically delicious now, thankyouverymuch. No lectures on tanning. At least I use sunscreen now...as opposed to using Crisco or Baby Oil and Iodine when I as in High School...)

There is a lot to be said for recharging your batteries. I didn't even realize how much I needed the energy boost until I came home. There was a time in my life I never wanted to be alone. Never wanted the world to be quiet around me. Now I crave it sometimes. Does that mean I'm turning into a crotchety old woman?

Surely not.

For me, I spend so much time keeping busy or keeping my kids busy, that I lose track of myself. and I'm just selfish enough to not wanna do that. I'm not one of those people who never puts her needs first--and I think that's part of the reason I'm a pretty darn happy person. It took me a long time to get to this point in my life though.

I think, for girls especially, many of us fall into the people pleasing trap. We want to make everyone happy. We make good grades, we use our manners, we meet expectations (exceeding them usually), we drop everything for friends and family...and then we turn into adults who do the same thing. And we lose ourselves completely.

If you can take some time, (before you're married with children), to learn how to keep yourself mentally happy (and then apply those techniques after you're married with children), then the rest of your life will benefit. Everyone needs to have their batteries recharged. Just don't wait until you feel completely drained, because then it will take more than a couple of days in the woods to make you feel whole again.