It's OK

For 40 years I have been on a schedule in the adult world. Work, church, appointments, bills, kids' activities and, in the last few years, boat maintenance and departure items all vying for my attention. So it was with some satisfaction that I found myself laying on the settee the other day with a good book, where I stayed for more than 10 hours in one day <gasp>. Of course, every few pages my mind would knee-jerk in that reflexive way that causes you to remember something you had on your to-do list and had forgotten to accomplish. While some of the things that came to mind were justified (cleaning out the sump pump filter and hanging the wet towels out to dry), others were simply unnecessary. All were swiped aside as easily as the page on my iPad Kindle reader.

I've come to discover in the nearly three months since we left to go cruising that I've worked very hard all my life and that it is really (yes, really) OK for me to stop and read a book from cover to cover in one sitting. No guilt. No stress. Just me and some artfully woven characters and a cup of tea. While I don't regret much that I labored for in my life, it is truly a blessing to relax for awhile, and I think it might have been good to discover prior to going cruising that it's OK to turn off the switch and take a hot bath, or read a book, or indulge in a piece of dark chocolate and a glass of wine, or take a walk or buy some flowers.

Why don't you try it today. It's OK. Really.