this too
Friday, April 01, 2005
  A week off work

poissons d'avril

I took two extra days, so I could have the whole week off. A whole week, and so damn little achieved. Whenever I stop working, stop commuting three hours every day, I just feel so tired, falling down through loosening layers of tension, wariness, irritation, into a deep pit of exhaustion; with every defence discarded, falling further. A week is not enough, even, to hit bottom. So I’m trying to forgive myself for not having done the major springcleaning I envisaged, or travelled to Chartres to walk the cathedral labyrinth, or been to see the Matisse exhibition, the Africa exhibition, the Writer in the Garden exhibition, the exhibition of paintings by Strindberg, the Turner-Whistler-Manet exhibition, the Turks exhibition or the Tree of Life at the British Museum, or even written something more substantial for my blog.
 
Comments:
Oh, do I know that feeling!!

But don't beat yourself up over it. You don't *have* to do any of those things.

Anyway. Nothing substantial? I rather liked the cows, even though I haven't left anything yet to say so...
 
Yikes! The schedule you'd envisioned for yourself sounds exhausting! Thank goodness you *didn't* do all that with/to yourself!
 
I can relate to this so well, Jean. Sometimes what we really need is time to regenerate, to sleep, to allow ourselves to be exhausted. But it's so hard to do that - often harder than the "doing", the working-through of all those lists. A friend once said to me, "be careful of your 'shoulds'." I so often forget that good advice.
 
Hola senorita! Zounds like you need a siesta!

Actually your life sounds very fulfilling. Good for you. The day may come when you aren't able to accomplish some of the wonderful things you describe. A rest....and then.....
 
Your "to do" list is soooo much more interesting than mine, and I'd really rather do yours - even the spring cleaning. Good luck for a restful, life-charging week.
 
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