Heather says:
This will probably sound like a cop-out post and in a way it is. I’ve spent the last few weeks pretty much locked in my closet/office finishing up the rough draft. Today, I’m packing a big picnic lunch and taking the kids and inviting their usual sitter to the beach.
I need a little sunshine and fresh air and they all need a little change of scenery.
After that?
I have a stack of books I haven’t let myself read. I can’t wait to dig in and just stop thinking for a couple of days.
What’s your favorite, inexpensive getaway?
How do you recharge after stressful events?
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"How do you recharge after stressful events?"
Long, somewhat grueling bike rides with 130-140BPM music in one ear (other ear is open so I can hear traffic, other people etc.) The music keeps my feet turning the pedals on tempo to a cadence of around 80-95rpm, and that keeps me moving at an average speed I later do not hate myself for. I try to make them 25 miles or more (on a regular basis), and I'm slowly edging that up into the 35+ range. My ultimate goal is to bang out 50 mile rides the way I knock out 25 mile rides now, and to push at 100 miles without killing myself. I can do 100 now, but it takes everything I have and _all day_.
SO when I'm freaking out I just go riding. By mile 15, whatever I was stressing about is forgotten under the need to pay attention to the bike and the road, the freedom and feeling of flight I get from riding fast, and the simple-yet-unrelenting beat in my ear.
The endorphin rushes don't hurt none either.
Of course having just finished a 5-week intensive biology summer course – Monday lab, Tuesday test, Wednesday lab, Thursday test, Friday exam, 5 weeks straight – I am going to use my Xbox as an escape for the next few days. THINGS NEED TO DIE AT MY HAND. Digital things. EVIL things. 😉
Heather, congrats on finishing the first draft of the book! I can't wait for it to come out next year. As for handling stress, I haven't got that one quite figured out yet… still working on it. Have fun at the beach today!
For an instant getaway after a stressful day, I spend a very long time in a very hot shower. My family is given strict instructions that I am not to be interrupted unless someone is dying.
My stress relievers are of two different extreams. Either I run until I can't run any more (then turn around and run home)…usually into the double digit miles. OR… I sit in a bubble bath not moving a muscle and read a book. Lately it's been historical fiction writen about Henry VIII or one of his wives and/or children.
How do I recharge after stressful events?
Judging from the two days following my daughter's recent wedding — I have a migraine. I was out for 2 days, but on the third day, I felt seriously better than I had in a couple weeks.
My favorite, inexpensive getaway is always either a book, a magazine … or Amazon.com and a credit card. : o )
How do I recharge after stressful events? A tea tray set with a beautiful teapot and teacup, something small but delectable to eat, and a really, really good loose leaf tea ….. and solitude.
a long hot soak in the tub can give immediate relief to a body hurting from tension. but it it also sometimes benefits me physically and mentally to grab the digital camera, a bottle of water and just go on a meandering walk with or without the company of my two dogs. and on those long nights when sleep just will not come, a hot cup of tea and a good library book can take you away from worries and stress.
How do I recharge? If all the housework is done and the living room looks inviting, I turn off all the lights except a very dim one and I listen to an audio book. Turning pages hurts my hands (neuropathy) but this way I can still read! I might throw on an old movie; my favorite is An Affair to Remember. Just knowing I have nothing else to do is relaxing. Oh, and folding towels, but I can't believe I said that!