I learned recently that August 15 is National Relaxation Day—a day is set aside to slow down, unwind, and relax. We are advised to avoid stress, not work late, and rest when work is over.
What an odd notion—that we need a day each year devoted to relaxation. Whatever happened to “on the seventh day God rested”? I thought we got a day every week to relax.
Of course, I do not typically exercise my weekly option. When I was working, I was at the office at least six days a week, and scurried around the house on the other day doing chores like laundry and grocery shopping. Now that I’m retired, there is no boundary between work and life—work/life balance means nothing.
In fact, today, August 15, I start with an obligation at 8:30 in the morning, and my day will continue past midnight when I have to pick up a relative at the airport. I do get to attend a social event in the evening, but I’ll have to curtail the wine I drink because of my late night to follow. In between my morning meeting and my social event, I need to get the guest room ready for guests, edit several chapters of my work-in-progress, and follow-up on a couple of marketing efforts for my last novel.
Ironic—Relaxation Day is likely to be one of my longest and busiest days in months.
I can’t complain about my life in general, not compared to when I was working. Most mornings I get up when I want to, then read the newspaper and do the sudoku before moving on to writing. Most days I stop work at 4:00 or 5:00, with my only obligation for the rest of the day being to fix dinner. In the evenings, I can read or watch a movie, though I often find myself writing blog posts or editing just one more chapter before I relax.
So take a Relaxation Day? Not often. And not this August 15.
But I’ll mark my calendar now for 2017. If I schedule it a year in advance, perhaps it will happen.
What is your favorite relaxation activity? And will you get to do it on Relaxation Day?
