The Secret to Making Weekends Last Longer
I've recently re-learned something about weekends that I tend to forget.
It has to do with travel. Ever wonder why a weekend (or week) away tends to feel longer than the same amount of time in one's regular routine?
Basically, you're out of your rut -- seeing and doing new things -- so you're actually noticing the world, no longer on autopilot. That means you're fully alive in every moment and experiencing every detail.
As a bonus: you're also doing more fun things (unless you're travelling for work); you've literally left the grind of work and other daily responsibilities behind; and you're probably getting more exercise (walking!) and more nature.
I've found this time-dilation phenomenon to be true of all sorts of travel, from long-weekend hops to a nearby town or city, to multi-month overseas expeditions, and everything in between. Last weekend I took a road trip through gorgeous countryside to another city, poked around a trendy street, stayed in a place I'd never been before. Earlier this fall I spent a weekend in Montreal, doing much the same things. This summer I went hiking in the Rockies for most of a week. A year and a half ago, I spent three months backpacking around Asia. All of those trips felt twice as long as they really were.
Here's the secret: you don't have to actually travel.
On a Higher Level
I saw that on Tumblr the other day—the writer knew she was an adult, but she needed help from a higher-level adult. It resonated. A lot.
I don’t think I’m particularly bad at being an adult. I pay my rent, maintain my car, and mostly keep my kid out of major trouble. But I don’t really feel like…a higher-level adult. I mean, I’ve been adulting for more than twenty years and I still can’t make myself keep my bedroom neat. I like it neat—I just don’t always keep it that way.
And writing. You’ve read Siri trying to find ways to write more. You’ve heard from Erin and Kit when they don’t get enough writing in. Well, I’m with them. It may look like I produce, but I know that I spend way too much time not writing.
So I’m trying to organize my life. To level up. To get my stuff together. I mean, if I can learn to think of doing the dishes and keeping up on the litterbox as grinding, maybe I can make this work.
Year of No Fear: Three-Month Progress Report #3
Here we are with another Progress Report. (For reference, here is my Year of No Fear Manifesto). This covers July, August, and September.
Things have wound down a bit for me. Hubby and I spent most of summer camping and when we weren't camping, I was working on Grave Touched.
All Hail October, Greatest Month of the Year
Friends, I love October. There are so many lovely and wonderful things about it. Summer's heat finally breaks. The leaves turn beautiful, vibrant colors. It becomes okay to break out your boots and sweaters. There's cocoa and roaring fires. There's Halloween. And there's the promise of magic in the air, in the crisp breeze, in the crunching leaves.
Also, my birthday is in October.
