Her life was boringly predictable, settled into a routine so mundane she knew, down to the minute, how it would play out.
At 4:30 a.m. her mini Lab wakes her. Standing at the edge of her bed, nudging her with a wet nose and amorous dog kisses, licking her arm until she gets up. Padding barefoot to the back door, she lets the dog out for the first of many laps around the yard.
Back in her cooling bed, she has an hour before her husband’s alarm rudely rouses her again. At 6:01 she crawls across his prone and unmoving body to slap the snooze button. She shakes him until he growls coherently, signaling he is awake.
Giving up any illusion of more sleep, she begins her day, just like every other day. Laundry, pets, dishes, bills, meals, vacuuming, dusting, ad nauseam… all before noon.
She longs for something more substantial. Something beyond the same everyday drill.
Where is the excitement? Where is the motivation?
In a moment of clarity, she packs a bag. Makes a lunch of Nutella sandwiches, iced Nescafé, and a chocolate bar. Throwing in a copy of “Oh! The Places You’ll Go,” she heads to the beach, alone and without guilt.
Sitting in a small patch of sunshine, on an empty beach, letting the stress of her day melt away, she wonders why she hadn’t done this before. Breathing in the crisp ocean air, and exhaling all her tension, she begins to feel inspired.
A simple break in routine doesn’t have to be extravagant. It can be as effortless as a walk on the beach, a hike in the woods, or a quite spot to just read undisturbed. She needs to add herself into that daily to-do list.
Thin spiral notebook 
Magnifica spiaggia !!!!
Bye Myriam
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Very beautiful photo for SWF!Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend!
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Creative story and awesome sky shot!
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Great clouds.
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Remembering to add yourself to the to-do list. Love that. Only you have the power to make it more exciting. Lovely!
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Yes, we need to take care of ourselves. This reminds me a perfect “Artists Date” from Julia Cameron’s The Artists’s Way.
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I touched on the same things almost,”she packs a bag. Makes a lunch of Nutella sandwiches, iced Nescafé, and a chocolate bar. Throwing in a copy of “Oh! The Places You’ll Go,” but in a different way.
I love how the small indulgences have comforted her. So many people waste their time searching for some big excitement – when it’s there buried in the little things, if you just take the time to find them and enjoy them. I so want a nutella sandwich now:)
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Good advice – for everyone.
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Ahhh. Yes, you’re right. One day , one afternoon can make a mundane day so much better. Like you , when I read that line from REM, all I could think of was how I wished for a day at the beach or an afternoon to read. How some days you wake and you take on your “day” just like the thousands before it and other days you wake and your insides WANT/NEED a day at the beach, a stroll around a museum, a lunch of french fries and good conversation.
as always, it was the way you wrote about breaking away for a day, an afternoon, a moment that made it come to life for me.
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just in time for Mother’s Day: a reminder to take time for yourself 🙂
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