My life is beautiful chaos. I thrive on being busy, on making the most of my time, on being productive (possibly to a fault), and living life to the fullest. I do this at work, at home, and on the weekends. I strive to live each day like I’m squeezing all of the juice out of the orange. Every last drop.

Winter hike

Winter hike

Somehow, this often means that I forget to rest.

Don’t get me wrong – I never forget to sleep. I strive for a full eight hours per night (well, actually, my FitBit tells me I average about 7.5) so that my body is fully equipped for the demands of the day.

College friends reunited for a weekend! Monica, Meredith, and me

College friends reunited for a weekend! Monica, Meredith, and me

I know the importance of good food, physical exercise, and sleep. It’s important to me to also exercise my mind, so I read and listen to podcasts. I feed my soul with great conversations with friends and family.

But what I most often fail to do is to rest.

You haven’t heard from me in the last couple of weeks – and that’s because I’ve been resting.

I’ve been climbing mountains with friends. I’ve been visiting dear friends from college and celebrating a soon-to-come new life. I’ve been cooking and laughing and playing with friends from work. I’ve been catching up on hours of Gilmore Girls reruns on Netflix.

Hiking with friends is the best. Jordan and me on a winter hike

Hiking with friends is the best. Jordan and me on a winter hike

As you, too, seek the balance of work, play, and rest, here are my wishes for you:

Work hard, but not too much.

Spend lots of time with family and friends, but make time to spend alone with yourself, too.

Get up early to see a sunrise, but take time to sleep in once in a while.

Eat plenty of veggies, and buy full-fat ice cream.

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Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.
— Jack Kerouac

Take Jack seriously. Life is so sweet and so short; don’t let it pass you by.

With love, from Peas and Hoppiness

4 thoughts on “Rest”

  1. Amalee Cummings

    I also struggle with rest! Maybe similar personalities are drawn to the same profession or something! Thank you for the good reminder to get rest… even if I have to schedule it in 🙂
    -Amalee

  2. Oops! I do the same thing, and I’ve had 70 years to learn not to! I guess I’ll be a work in progress til my last breath.

    1. How beautiful to still to consider yourself a "work in progress" – so many of us feel like we’re done and fail to continue working to be a better human, for yourself and others. You’re an inspiration!

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