March 2022 SOLC–Day 8
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I finished a week of break not too long ago, and it was low-key and utterly refreshing. It’s been a tough, tough year and I haven’t always handled it well. Over that week, I started to feel human again. 

At the end of the week, I tried to explain to my husband what made it feel so great. Why I felt so refreshed. Lighter. 

“You know what it is,” I said after thinking about it for a while, “I got to putter. And even though it didn’t have to be, most of the time it was actually productive puttering.” 

From day to day, there was no time crunch. I could get up when I wanted to (typically by 5 anyway) and do what I wanted to. I could run an errand, come home. And then, if I felt like it, go out again. I didn’t have to be efficient. I could be surprised by the time rather than being hyperaware of each minute passing. 

I washed the car. I vacuumed the car. I read, I wrote. I cooked once in a while. I made a really nice lunch one day. I went for walks. I took pictures. I got the oil changed. I cleaned the fridge. I watched the birds. I read, I wrote. I took cat naps. I sat in the sun. I even went to work one day for about 7 hours. And that was okay, too. Because I had a choice. 

I stepped out of the frenzied pace and oh, it really was nice.

Who knew puttering could feel like a luxury.