Bits for Sunday, July 19, 2009

This is my 800th post! Hard to believe I've been a blogger that long. I wish the post could have a bit more substance, but enjoy anyway.....


I spent the weekend resting and nesting. My friend Trudy is about to have a baby, and I’m once again scheduled to be there for the birth. Early last week , her doctor said she was certain the baby would be born before Sunday. It is now Sunday and that baby was firmly planted inside Trudy when I saw her earlier today.

While I wait, I’ve cleared my calendar of most activities, leaving me with nothing to do but…rest and nest. I caught up on my scrapping, worked on the house and yard, did all the laundry and dishes…and now I’m sacked out on the couch waiting for the Michael Douglas lifetime achievement special to air on TV Land. (If I owned The American President, I’d have watched it today in honor of the special. That is one of my favorite movies.)

It’s been a long time since I just kicked back and rested. Since I sat on the couch and didn’t feel guilty about it. Since I slept for hours at a time with no interruption – even from the cats. Since I had two days in a row with virtually no plans packing every moment.

I think I kind of like it.

My parents raised me well to rest on Sundays. To take a break from work and build up some extra strength for the week to come. I spent many Sunday afternoons lost in the world of books…occasionally sneaking in a nap…talking on the phone…writing…listening to music...writing letters. And when I went on to college, I took that practice with me.

And now I’m all grown up (a.k.a. getting old) and I still love the day of rest. Sometimes the rest seems awfully busy. Does it ever seem that way to you?

But on a true day of rest, I love to…

• Take a long nap – one that ends in waking up tired from sleeping so long.

• Curl up and watch a movie – while doing NOTHING else. No multi-tasking.

• Do a scrapbook page or seven.

• Read a book…and by read, I mean underline, highlight, and journal about all through the process.

• Look at old scrapbooks.

• Do my nails.

• Catch up on blogs.

• Every now and then, maybe even take a walk that doesn’t involve speeding or sweating.

• Call AT&T to see why my internet crashed again. (Oh wait. That just slipped in there. It’s not really something I love to do.)

You may not be waiting on a baby…but I would like to highly recommend taking a day of rest. Your version of rest might look different from mine, but there’s nothing like that rejuvenation. And of course…the promise that it will come back around in another week!