Joy to You and Me

I've been doing quite a bit lately...I mean, quite a bit. I won't go into a whole lot of detail; let's just say I've been extremely busy with work, busy with household chores, busy writing, and busy doing line editing for a couple of fellow authors. I have so much on my plate that at times I ask myself how the heck it all gets done...but strangely enough, it does, although I should probably be crying from frustration and feeling like I'm drowning rather than soldiering on.

The other day it occurred to me why I'm doing the latter rather than the former.

I take time out for joy.

When I spend a difficult day lugging a 35-pound carpet shampooer to clean three floors worth of rugs, the next day I'll meet a friend for a leisurely lunch. A full day of running errands is followed by baking biscuits or cookies or a coffee cake for my husband, enjoying a few pages of an eBook while they bake. Blowing the snow from the driveway and shoveling areas where the snowblower won't work, like the front steps, and I get in the tub and turn on the whirlpool jets. Rushing to get a birthday greeting with a gift card in the mail so it's received on time, even though I can barely fit it in to my schedule, is followed by my spending an hour chatting with my mother in Florida. It might put me behind schedule, but a surprising number of chores can be put off to the next day without serious consequences.

These may be little things, sure, but they go a long way toward keeping me on track and maintaining my emotional health.

Feeling overwhelmed? Try to put some balance in your life and make time to do things you enjoy...just for the joy of it.