A Day That I Needed

I couldn't pry myself out of bed yesterday morning. I was so exhausted that I felt on the cusp of being ill (this is a sensation that passes the moment my feet hit the floor so I know it is all in my head ... or lack of sleep??). I looked at Andre, our cat, who was 'at one' with My Youngest and his bed. I told him, "I think I'm going to have a Cat Day if I don't have to work today " A day where you find a sunbeam, a couch and doze in and out of consciousness. All day. Then all night.

I think that I may have cried if I had gotten called in to work at that point of the day.

In reality ... I would have agreed to work (at my first job), put in my day and at the end of it I would have been grateful for the way it turned out. There is a little treasure hidden among every day at my job despite the fact that it is still rather unpredictable.

But! The phone didn't ring and as the clock inched closer to 8:00 a.m., I had the feeling that I got the day that I was hoping for.

My Youngest Son has lost interest in all available lunch foods. Since we were only four days away from the last day of school, I offered to pick up some lunch and bring it home for him. I didn't have to ask him twice. We had a date!

So ... my 'challenge' was to do what I had to do and be back home by 11:45 a.m.

My to-do list consisted of: getting groceries. My want-to-do list consisted of: trekking over to a used book store to see what good reads I could find for the summer (and for an aunt who is back in the hospital). My pure-indulgence desire was: to do something to treat myself.

Am I just a little bit pouty because I worked last Saturday & Sunday at my second job and I'm booked to work today & tomorrow as well? In a word? Yes.

Seven day work-availability is for the birds. I want to shout "I QUIT!" at the top of my lungs. But I settled for making myself unavailable to work at my second job for the July 1st long weekend. Mom is coming out Sunday night (tomorrow) and I just want to keep that weekend free so that we can play things by ear. And so that I can just ... breathe.

But since they do actually pay me to work there, I decided to indulge myself in a little bit of pampering with my second income. Lucky for me, a new salon opened up in our neighborhood. They do hair and all of the esthetics menu of goodies. I ran my fingers through my hair ... then looked at my toes that needed to be tended ... and at the shabby cuticles on my hands ... and opted for HAIR.

I called to see if they had an opening. And I was asked, "When would you like to come in?" It sounded like the day was wide open. So I took a risk and asked about the price of getting a color and highlights. The price was reasonable. She had the time. And so did I. I booked an appointment for 1:00 and thought to myself "My second job will pay for this extravagance!"

Once that appointment was booked, the day took off. I ran my errands and was home with our lunch with minutes to spare. I had time to eat lunch, return a phone call ... and I was soon strolling over to my date with a hair stylist!

It was a most pleasant way to spend an afternoon! My stylist didn't have other people booked in while we waited for the color to set (or whatever it does), so we had coffee and visited like old friends. Between the cup of caffeine, the psychological lift one gets from getting their hair cut and colored; and the company ... I walked out of that appointment with more life in me than I have had in a while. Yes. Two hours of pampering was definitely what the doctor ordered!

Yes ... a Cat Day was originally all that was on my agenda. But I feel ever so much better for having spent the day in a mildly productive manner. And the best reward of all? A little bit of pampering.

When you feel a little out of sorts and like you are being pulled in too many directions ... a small bit of pampering goes a long way.