Why are the brakes in the car so worn???

My husband has frequently asked me "why are the brakes so worn in your car?". I laugh and usually respond "Gee Honey, I don't know."

Have you ever noticed that 5 minutes makes a big difference in your life?? It does in my life. One of the things I LOVE about writing this blog (besides sharing my thoughts with all of my readers) is being able to go back and read what I wrote. I always wanted to keep a diary but I never was consistent about it and when I did re-read what I wrote, I found that a lot of the time it was just a stream of consciousness. Since I spend a lot of time writing and re-writing this blog, my writing is much more concise - at least I try to make it that way. Lately, I have been feeling that tight "pit in my stomach" "head achy" feeling that I had before my summer vacation. I started to feel like I was "fighting" again. I was getting really wound up and I didn't like how that felt. I went back and re-read "Unplugged" and I realized that I was very close to being in that up-tight place that I was before. YUCK!! So I took a deep breath and focused on "getting out of there".

Whenever I come back from vacation, I spend a lot of time thinking of how I can simulate that "vacation like" feeling into my everyday life. Even though I am home and I do have my work to do, why can't I do it in a more relaxed way? What makes the difference?? Time is the difference. When I am on vacation, I have time to relax, time to sleep, time to do what I want or feel like doing. That is the main difference. The most relaxing vacation is going to a place where there is not much to do; like an island in the Caribbean. All you can do is go the the beach, frolic in the water and relax. More active vacations like skiing or sightseeing are great also but certainly more work. So how do I "vacation" in my normal life?

The answer is in one little word . . . prioritize. I must do what is important to me and my family and forget the rest! Not necessarily in order of importance I must: exercise, go to Weight Watchers, keep my home in order, prepare healthy delicious meals for my family, parent my children, be a supportive spouse to my husband and take care of myself. I remember this Mom who had a daughter in the same pre-school as my daughter. When I asked her to volunteer for an extra event, she looked at me and said "Christina, Less is More". I really didn't understand at the time (she had 5 children and her daughter was the youngest) but now I sure do!

In the words of Simon and Garfunkel . . . "Slow down, you move too fast, you have to make the morning last just, kicking down the cobble stones, looking for fun and Feelin' Groovy . . . "

Don't you feel better just hearing that song?? (LOVE GARFUNKEL"S HAIR)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e36gLfrmRCw

(If the link doesn't work just go directly to youtube to hear the

song - sorry - Tech difficulties)