I can fully lose myself in work, and I'm grateful for the creative outlet and sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Here and there, I take lunchtime walks with Dave and they're cathartic. (Last night I read about people doing "fake commutes" involving long walks before breakfast.)
Here and there, I take lunchtime walks with Dave and they're cathartic. (Last night I read about people doing "fake commutes" involving long walks before breakfast.)
Immersive activities in which I can't constantly look at my phone, like baking or doing a project with Ben, distract me from life.
So do drives alone, especially at night when there's calm and quiet.
Organizing anything and everything: a seriously satisfying diversion. I literally just close the door to the areas where neatness is impossible like our so-called dining room, which is now Dave's office/man cave.
Playing piano takes me away; I recently tried it again after not touching ours for the better part of a decade. I'm rusty and plinking away, but it feels good.
And I can always escape to another world through a book or TV series—in recent months we've finished The Queen's Gambit (outstanding), The Undoing (pretty good) and Peaky Blinders (absolutely positively addictive and I've been up till 2:00 a.m. lately because of it).
Playing piano takes me away; I recently tried it again after not touching ours for the better part of a decade. I'm rusty and plinking away, but it feels good.
And I can always escape to another world through a book or TV series—in recent months we've finished The Queen's Gambit (outstanding), The Undoing (pretty good) and Peaky Blinders (absolutely positively addictive and I've been up till 2:00 a.m. lately because of it).
The best antidote is laughter, just as its always been. Ben and Max have taken to hanging out in the basement together and sometimes the sound of their giggles drifts upstairs and lifts me. Sabrina and I laugh over Ben's maneuvering and mannerisms.
Friday, I walked downstairs and found Max enjoying a class dance party (he's still doing virtual schooling). As he did the moves to "Watch Me" Max laughed gleefully and I did, too. In that moment, he was living his best life. And I remembered to, as well.
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Nutella often does the trick! But glad to hear you have other ways to find relaxation and calm. And love that Max’s class incorporates dancing. His smile truly makes others smile!
ReplyDeleteAV, I am not the most objective source but have to agree, his smile is awesome.
DeletePlaying the piano and doing projects with your child are not distractions from life-- they ARE life (or at least the better parts of life)! Why consider the bad stuff as reality's default, and the good stuff as an escape? You're enriching your mind with the piano, you're building your child's life-long emotional base with your shared projects-- yes! real life!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, once you're done with Peaky Blinders, if you can scrape your bashed psyche off the floor (yes, it's a mesmerizing series, but I practically needed a therapist after each episode), you might like Foyle's War as an absorbing antidote. Absorbing and realistic in an entirely different way-- but still with UK accents.
Touché, Anon. You're right, those are real life. I wouldn't consider them escapes if only I had more time for them—and I hope to carve out more. Yes, Peaky Blinders has that it's-awful-but-can't-look-away effect. Thank you for the Foyle's War reco, I looked it up and it looks great.
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