Time For Myself

It's been an intense and busy week. Plenty happening, plenty to keep me buzzing, and one or two alarmingly long hours to boot. And busy is OK, once in a while.

But it's been a little too busy for the last week or two, to be honest.

It's Friday now and I'm feeling physically and mentally drained. The grey matter is definitely in need of a reboot!

I'm looking for a few minutes (if not hours) of some precious me-time over the weekend.

Which is something we all require from time to time. And I desperately need it now. Time to stop.

Here's a few quotes on the subject...

“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You've got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it. It's like boats. You keep your motor on so you can steer with the current. And when you hear the sound of the waterfall coming nearer and nearer, tidy up the boat, put on your best tie and hat, and smoke a cigar right up till the moment you go over. That's a triumph.” - Ray Bradbury, Farewell Summer

“Just five minutes, God, I chant like some hostage negotiator on the brink of a resolution. Five minutes alone. Please, please. Please.” - Shannon Celebi

“We need quiet time to examine our lives honestly and openly ... spending quiet time gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.” - Susan L Taylor

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” - Mark 6: 31-32

So Annoying

Let me tell you a bit about last Thursday.

The day became a bit of a battleground, I must admit. At the start of the week, over a hundred different problems stood in the way of me getting the following Friday off work.  You'll never make it, the little negative voice in my head said. I was suitably defiant.

By the time Thursday arrived, the barriers to getting my own way were down to a mere handful. The day was still far from easy, and definitely 'shots were fired'.  Nevertheless, I stood my ground, determined to see it through, ticking off one by one the urgent jobs that I had to get done; swerving the distractions and people who sought to derail my precious to-do list for the day.

Why did I need Friday off? Because it was the funeral of a very dear friend. I had feared that I was going to have to cry off, but I knuckled down. I went the extra mile and worked past my normal clocking-off time during the week so I could make it happen, as it was becoming increasingly clear to me that I should be there. I was so chuffed to leave my desk clear as I went home.

I raced home, and quickly changed so I could go out again and give blood. The donation session was booked at least 4 months before. No problem, no great concern, the day had been planned around it.

But the donation didn't happen. There wasn't enough iron in my blood. I mean, not anything to cause me medical issues, just not enough for the nurse to approve me to donate.

They measured it precisely. For anyone whose medically trained, apparently my Haemoglobin level needed to be 135g/l or over to donate.

It was 134. Argh!

No big deal, you might think. And you'd be right.

But it was so annoying. One point. One!

And I swear I could hear a cackling laugh in the background as I left the venue to drive home...