I am playing hooky. On a weekday. In the middle of the afternoon.
Just when EXACTLY did hell freeze over???
So not only has January been a month of restoration, but it has also been one of trying new things. Taking a few risks (maybe a lot of risks).
One of the many things I have learned about entrepreneurship these past two years is that it IS possible for me to work even harder than I did in corporate...AND I have even more to lose. So that beast of not taking care of myself, people-pleasing, don't know how to say the word N-O, and other horrifically bad habits that I have spent 43 years of accumulating...well, they are still present...and still bad.
My business partner and I sat down at the very end/very beginning of this new year and had a really HARD discussion about taking care of ourselves, each other, and our little firm that could. We discussed what it had taken out of us to get to this point, and were brutally honest with each other what we believed it would take to get us to the goals we had for 2015. Then the negotiation began. I am older so of course I am wiser (HA!), but seriously what I do have is years of making bad choices to glean good best practices from and most importantly....a lot of the what not to do. It was difficult even for two self-aware workaholics to admit that we were risking our health and personal relationships to continue to work like we had been...something had to give.
I am not going to dive into all of the nitty gritty here, but what I will share is our commitment to each other to take an early day. Whew! It is even hard to type. How utterly RIDICULOUS is that?!?!
So we each take a different day each week to leave mid-afternoon and be gone. Like MIA gone. He to spend time with his kids, go for a bike ride, hit the gym...and me...well I am still figuring out what I want to do with mine...this is only the second one (last week's was a BUST!) and I am sitting out on a patio writing behind dark sunglasses feeling like I just broke out of jail. I might be having some issues. :))))
It is precious time for us to gain perspective on our lives, go grab coffee with a friend, do something for others, or do something for ourselves. The main thing is that it allows us time from behind our desk, conference tables, or endless meetings and calls....to simply be us.
Who am I?
That question from Catalyst last October is still stuck in my head. Who am I? Who am I without work? Without my planner/calendar? Without my business card? My social media updates? My people? My tribe? Who. Am. I.???
Let me tell you something...I haven't a clue...not really...but I have part of one. ;) I know a lot more now as I end this month of January than I did when I started it, and I am grateful to God for showing me that I needed to take this time to restore and recalibrate. It has been a simply beautiful month. I am sad to see it end.
So...I am going to sit here and enjoy this glass of wine in the middle of the afternoon. I am going to write for a little while longer (I am working on a post about what I have learned this month.). I am going to watch the clouds roll by. I am going to visit with a friend a little later before we join our tribe for Bible study at the loft. I am going to breathe. I am going to smile.
I feel like I am doing something bad, but maybe someday in the not so distant future I will see this time in its full light and value....that I am better the rest of the time because I have taken a little time for myself....for my LIFE. I am looking forward to that day...
Enjoy your day. Wherever you are today.
Sunshine Dreams to You ~ Today and Every Day! :)
