Don't underestimate down time

As I mentioned in my last post, this was the thought that started it. Down time. I own my business, my husband works, we have a 3 year old and 2 dogs and no family lives in town.

Down time is like the Holy Grail to me.

Last winter, my husband changed to a job where he had weekends off. We've known each other for 15 years, and this was the first time we had *ever* both had weekends off! So, what do we do? We make plans. Birthday parties for kids turning 3. Visiting friends and family. Having friends and family visit us. Day trips. Home improvements. Festivals. All fun, fun stuff, but decidedly *not* down time.

So two weekends ago, we find ourselves faced with nothing on the calendar. We have some "maybes", things we could do but had not planned. What to do? We leave it blank. Aahh..

We read the paper
He tinkered in the garage
I did the crossword and the sudoku
I read a book
He cooked
We played trivial pursuit and had cocktails (after the kid was in bed)
We took the dogs to the park both days
We taught the kid to play slapjack and war.
We watched movies.
We played with legos and trains.

We did not go to our "maybes". Just 'cause we didn't have to.

Then this past weekend? Same thing. Heaven.

Soon the trips and visits will start up again, but we need to remember to put a big, fat "X" through the weekend every once in a while and take it for ourselves.

So for you? Take your down time - it's worth it, I promise.