Steve and I had the most lazy, relaxing week in our cottage hideaway the English Cotswolds. We snuggled up in our converted Hayloft to escape from the world and recharge some very flat batteries. The week was fantastic and in the midst of it Steve and I celebrated our first Wedding anniversay. As we explored a box of memories (Steve's strippy Wedding socks, the comb from my doomed viel, the games booklets from the reception as well as all the usual photos and guest books) I found it weird to remember life as Carla Trundle and marvelled at how quickly the last year has gone...
Though in activity Steve and I did very little in the week, in discussion we achieved a lot. As we drove to Stratford upon Avon we were both very weary and suffering the affects of long term stress. It kind of took me by surprise as I've never struggled to relax before like I did this week. I had trouble sleeping, anxiety, nausia and a tight chest. It took most of the week just to feel normal.
Being tired this time of year isn't surprising. I've just gone through my busiest period but never before has my workload or life effected me like that. It really threw me. I don't think any one thing brought us to that point but maybe the mixture of our first year of marriage, a new role in 24-7 that I find really stretching, working from home and a bigger 24-7 gathering to organise this year accumulatively took their toll.
We'd always planned to do a life audit whilst we were away but our tiredness kinda gave it gravity. We went through every thing we do and everything we wanted to do and talked and prayed about what needed to be in our lives and what needed to drop away. Getting rid of stuff was harder than I thought it was gonna be. I made a few decisions about things I'm gonna stop, Steve too but the list of things we wanted to do more of was longer: more social time, date nights, football (er this one wasn't me), dancing (this one was me :), etc. The biggest challenge is putting healthy boundaries around our work and to use our leisure time better. We both love what we do and work from our home so things get a little blurry when we're busy.
The week of sleeping, eating great food, having fantastic chats, walks into Shakespear's town, reading and watching Lost season 3 (loved it! long live magic realism!) was an incredible blessing :D We turned off our phone, had no internet connection (my palms were a little sweaty) and slammed on the breaks to enjoy a slower pace of life.
Next year we're going for a rhythm of stopping for different breaks quarterly. Some long weekends, a week and a two week break are being pencilled into the diary. Ah I can't wait. There's nothing I love more than doing nothing with my favourite person. xc