Self Care

If ever there was a post I'm probably NOT qualified to write, it's this one. (But watch me do it anyway!)

Probably the number one question we get from people is "What exactly do you do?" That is followed by the comment, "I will never understand your job." 

It's fair. We're just now coming to the place where we are understanding it ourselves, and we've done it every day for almost 10 months. We don't expect everyone to get it. And we don't mind explaining it repeatedly. 

But another popular question we get centers around what we do in our down time or how we practice self-care so we don't burn out. 

We're still learning how to do that well, and we certainly don't have it mastered yet. We're working on it. We've been told every couple has to figure it out for themselves and it takes time. 

Our job, as you know, is not an 8-5 thing. We don't clock in and out. We work throughout the day and we also take breaks throughout the day. We have some days that are work-heavy and some days that are lighter, so we fit in our personal time accordingly. It's been a stretch for a couple of Type A scheduled people!

But here are some of the things we currently do to rest our minds and bodies in the middle of a very busy schedule!

* Naps. Sometimes our days start early. Sometimes they wind up going late into the night. Sometimes they're just mentally draining from difficult conversations. If we have a few minutes of quiet, we dearly love to catch a quick nap. Even twenty minutes can make all the difference in a day. 

* Walks. Oh how we missed being able to do this every single day over the winter. But seriously, every single day that the weather is remotely decent enough to be outside (even if it's a bit cold or windy or whatever) we go on a long walk. We try to be gone an hour or so, and we use that time to talk through everything on our minds and hearts. 

* Coffee break. There are some days we just need to get away from the building for a change of scenery. It's really important since our work and home are in the same space. If we need to get out, we'll take some time and just go get coffee. Sit. Stare. Talk. Whatever we need.

* Word Crush. We usually play a half dozen rounds of Word Crush every night to unwind. It's really fun, it stretches our brain in a different direction, and we like to think it keeps us sharp. Bonus? Now and then, we learn new words!

* "Our" shows. We have always had a show or two we love to watch, but they've almost always been TV dramas. We really don't have a full hour to devote to that anymore, so "our shows" are more in the half hour range now, but we really love putting one on to escape mentally for a little bit. We're working our way through the seasons of Mad About You while we eat lunch every day. One episode is about perfect for a mealtime, so we usually watch that while we eat. And then at dinner, we usually watch an episode of People Puzzler or America Says. We are pretty good at both of them and serve as an honorary team member for whoever is on that day.

* Random planning. I like to take Pinterest breaks or work on planning a trip. I really enjoy it, so sometimes I'll just sit and do that for a while. Or I scrapbook. I've kept up on those really well since we moved. Ryan likes hunting online for things we might still need for Abby or watching YouTube videos about RV maintenance life. Though these are things we do separately, we usually do them at the same time and will tell each other about what we're finding.

* Listening to hymns. Sometimes we just turn on Natalie Raynes' YouTube channel and just listen to hours of hymns while we do other things. It soothes our souls. 

Things we're looking forward to doing for down-time include...

* Kayaking, biking, and hiking, now that the weather is warming up again.

* Returning to a regular workout routine. It simply hasn't been possible in this first year of work. We are looking forward to making that change in the month of May.

* Reading. This is just me...not Ryan. I haven't had time to read for pleasure, and I miss it. I'd like to reintroduce that to my routine!

So that's where we are right now! Until we have new co-workers, our own time will be even harder to come by, but we appreciate other co-workers pitching in to help us out some! 

What is your favorite way to spend your down time?