We’ve got relatives coming for the holiday weekend. We’ll have nine people under one roof tomorrow through Sunday. But you know what? Tonight, I’m meeting up with the girls! Instead of whirlwind hiding things cleaning, grocery shopping and prep-cooking for the masses, I’ll go out and have some appetizers, laughter and good conversation. One of my girlfriends, Jo, gave me advice last year that I have to stop and remind myself to do from time to time.

I went to see author, Wally Lamb at a Talking Volumes event with my book club gals last fall. It’s easy to say I “just went” but the whole process wasn’t easy. My husband was working late that night, so I had a lot of things to take care of on my own in a brief window of time. I left work to do the “daycare dash”, picked the kids up, whipped up dinner, fed and pajama-ed them, gave a refresher course to our infrequent sitter on the ins and outs of our children and house, slapped on some lipgloss and ran out the door. I then, drove to St. Paul in the seemingly endless rush hour traffic, no parking meters to be found, ran into the theater as the houselights went down, waved at my friends and finally crumpled in a heap in my seat.

My friend Jo noticed how harried I appeared. She touched my shoulder and whispered. “I know, I know, right now you’re wondering ‘Is it really worth it? It is. You have to get out and replenish your well. Do something just for you.” Wise words.

It took me a few minutes to unwind. Then, I sat there in the dark, so enthralled and inspired by the author’s stories that all my stress just melted away. My friends and I were able to hang out and converse a bit after the show, then it was time to go home. I drove back down the highway feeling a sense of relaxation and renewal.

I often find myself weighing the old hassle:benefit ratio. Sometimes the hassles are worth the benefits. That night was one.

So, I’ll whirlwind hide clean, shop and cook tomorrow. Tonight, I will laugh, catch up with old friends and replenish my well!

How do you replenish your well?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Family Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.