Back again . . . for now.

So I've been a major blogging slacker lately. A lot has happened over the last few weeks. I've been very busy flying and writing and editing. But that's life as an adult, I suppose. We have so much busy that we can't get done some of the things that we want to do-like blogging. :)

Sometimes I wish I could just "run away" from everything. With my job that could actually be easy (LOL) but in reality running away doesn't help anything. I actually thought about this a week or so back. I was struggling with my writing, my job, and the everyday pressures of having a home and bills to pay, etc. Running away for a while started to sound like a great idea.

Instead I turned to prayer and the scriptures and decided that running away would be very selfish and hurt the people I care about more than help myself. So, I didn't run away. Instead I took a responsibility vacation.

Sounds silly, I know, but in the end it helped me much more than running away would have. Instead of all the stress of knowing that I would be worrying friends and family, I stayed home. For nearly two days (I was between work trips) I sat on the couch in my comfy clothes or pajamas and read books, watched tv, and did puzzles on my computer. I didn't even crack my files of books open to work on anything or bother cleaning the house at all.

Now, I consider myself very lucky to be able to relax like this. So many people I know have families and jobs that don't allow them to take it easy like that. How do you take a responsibility vacation? My only advice is to trust the people around you. Many of us have an amazing community of friends and family in and out of the church that can help us.

Being Mormon we talk a lot about serving others, but we don't spend nearly as much time on letting others serve us. Something I learned when my mom was very sick with cancer, is that other people want to serve those they love and care about, but it is also up to us to let those people serve. My mom didn't want the Relief Society to bring meals to the house. She was supposed to be giving the service and because she had me and my dad and my good friend and roomie Dawn to help, we didn't need the service.

It took Dawn and me lots of talking to convince her that maybe it was time to let someone serve us. What it came down to was the fact that both Dawn and I were working and my dad was tired. We needed the help. We wanted to let others gain the blessings of serving so we could have a break from the stress of cooking that way we could focus on helping my mom, cleaning, yard work, etc.

So, this brings me back to my earlier point. How can we take a responsibility vacation. Utilize the resources around you. Even if it is only for a day or two. Find a family member or friend who can babysit while you relax. Go shopping (you don't have to buy anything, but you can look around). You might be surprised at what has changed. If you like to read, go to the library and spend an hour browsing. Hole up in your room with a box of chocolates and read or relax or watch a movie.

We all need the time off. As women we think we have to do everything until we collapse or explode from stress and exhaustion. I've been there. Though my life seems very easy to some, I have my own set of trials and challenges and every once in a while even I need to set it all aside and take a responsibility vacation.

Well, that's my rant for the week. Now I need to go clean the house. :)