Resting–Not Optional

In an email exchange with my husband, Matt, this week I had a revelation about something in our relationship that can, at times, cause some friction: When tired, Matt’s default is toward resting and mine toward action.

For example, Saturday morning after a very long week: Matt is laying on the couch, in his sweats, reading random news and watching YouTube videos of who knows what (surfing?) on his iPad. Me? I’ve already made a list of everything I want to accomplish that weekend and have gotten a head start by giving the kitchen a much-needed cleaning, put in a load of laundry, checked the finances, and have one foot out the door to run errands before it gets crowded. Looking at Matt relaxing on the couch while I’m in motion getting “stuff” done makes my blood boil.

But, in all honesty, does anything I’m “taking care of” need to be done right then, on Saturday morning? Could perhaps it wait until Sunday? Or maybe even next week? Does it really even need to be done at all? In fact, might it actually be better for me to rest and relax on Saturday morning?

We recently welcomed a puppy, Emory, into our home, which has been both pure joy and eye opening. When ten-week-old Emory gets really tired she goes berzek—digging holes, running circles around the house, tearing into her toys, unable to concentrate on anything for more than two seconds. And then she crashes. Sound familiar?

My lesson is the same as Emory’s: There are always going to be more to see, do and explore than you’ll have time for. You can’t do it all. You don’t even need to do it all. And if you don’t take time to rest, you’ll never have the energy or mental bandwidth to do just a fraction of all that you want to do.

It’s more than okay to rest, it’s a must.

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