Lessons from a Long, Holiday Week-end

I took Friday off, and thus, I have enjoyed a 4 day week-end. What a treat!  Here are some of the things I learned/realized:

--There are times when it's good to pretend you're at a resort and just take time off.  I did very little in the way of chores, writing, all the things I thought I "should" do with the gift of time.  Instead, I relaxed, I read a book, I took a nap every day . . . and as a result, I feel refreshed.

--If you need a good book for a summer read, I recommend Emma Straub's latest, Modern Lovers.  It's set during one summer in Brooklyn.  It's about artists and growing older and real estate and cooking.  It's not intense reading, but it's not so light and fluffy as to be boring. I spent the week-end looking forward to getting back to it, wondering what would happen, enjoying the read.

--I did a few chores:  some laundry, some vacuuming, some food provisioning for this coming week of heavy meetings.  But I didn't do the heavy stuff, like cutting shrubs.  And I'm fine with that.

--I thought I might try to ride my motorcycle more.  But it looked like it might storm all week-end.  Plus, that task too felt like a chore, and as the week-end went on, it was clear to me that I was abandoning most chores.

--It is good to spend time in the pool.  When I'm in the pool, I'm not eating mindlessly.

--One should not buy Trader Joe's toffee covered with dark chocolate and pistachio chunks.  One will eat the whole box, even though one thinks one can be disciplined.

--Last night, we sat on the front porch and played patriotic/American music on our mandolins and violin.  I am amazed at how much I have retained since May.  I know now which spot on the mandolin corresponds with which note.   I picked up "This Land Is Your Land" fairly quickly last night, and I could play it without looking at the instrument too often. 

--I have done this by picking the mandolin up during brief moments throughout the week during the past 2 months, not by sustained practice sessions.

--Could I get comfortable on the motorcycle the same way?

--As we sat on the porch, people hiked by on their way to watch the fireworks at the beach.  It felt like old-timey, small town America--except that those people didn't live in the neighborhood--they had just parked there.

--I prefer the Independence Day festivities to start a week-end, not to come at the end of it--lots of fireworks noise last night.

--In an effort to carry this resort like feeling into my week of many meetings, let me go take a quick dip in the pool.