Guilty Pleasures (8/25/14)

So I was at the IHOP recently with a long time friend from college. She was recently published and wrote a reference book about Romance Novels. As a result, she has read a dizzying amount of romance novels in recent months while writing this book. Then as we were talking and I was perusing the book, I said that I recently picked up some romance novels from my huge book pile and started reading them. I also mentioned something to the effect that I have so many 'real history' books to read but I was plowing through all types of romance novels at an alarming rate. She then said something that I had not considered. I need to have a few 'guilty pleasures' and 'escapes' in my life. How enlightening!!! I had not considered that in ages. I guess with all I have been through in the last 2 1/2 years, I hadn't really thought about an escape. But it is absolutely true.

So I started thinking about my 'not so guilty pleasures' and have given myself permission to indulge. It is perfectly fine to take a break and 'waste time' doing something that doesn't take a lot of time or money or effort. I just relax. That was something, even with summer vacation, I didn't really give myself permission to do most days. Productivity or bust seemed to be my motto.

Then I started thinking about Dave. I'd lament the number of naps I'd take most days in July. I felt like I was wasting time. He'd remind me that I had a tough year and my body needs time to rest and relax or else I'd end up in the hospital again in the fall.

So enough of the 'shoulds'. I need to embrace the escapes and not feel any guilt about them. The indulgences are calorie free. Most are cheap. So I plan to indulge more which, now that I have given myself permission, should lead to less stress. I can make the time for a quick escape in my day. No excuses. It's just what this Type A Control Freak Perfectionist Personality needs!!! LOL.

So what are the indulgences? I organized the book pile into three-quick romance reads, longer reads and historical reads. Easy to see. I downloaded a bunch of books onto the Kindle as well that are quick fun reads. I am going to work guilt free on my puzzles and crafts. I don't need to dedicate hours, some days 15 or 30 minutes while waiting for dinner to cook will be enough. Maybe it will help to stop the stress eating. Maybe I'll feel more relaxed and human instead of just going from task to task to task.