I've been off work for 4 days now, and although it feels like much longer, I have begun to look at the perks of being "jobless." I'm writing to share those with you, but before I do, I would like to make a little disclaimer: for those of you who have a job that you love and are able to go to each day, but find yourself dreaming of life without work from time to time, being off work indefinitely is not as glamourous or wonderful as it may seem. Not for someone who loves their job as much as I do. Nevertheless, I am trying my best to enjoy my time at home, because as many have told me, the next time I will have this extended amount of time off will be retirement (or maybe next time I get pregnant, but I would prefer that it be retirement, as I'm hopeful that this will not be a normal occurance when it comes to my pregnancies...) And since retirement is a long time away, I am trying to enjoy the time that I have been given, even if I would have chosen other use of this time.
Perk 1- A Routine & Quiet Time-When thinking about time off from work, I would have thought that sleeping till 10 am and spending my day in pjs lounging on the couch watching chick flicks would top my list of perks for time off work. However, this is not the case. I am trying my best to keep some kind of routine (mainly for my sanity.) This week I have woken up when Josh gets up to go to work, he's checked my blood pressure (which has been great!), and then we've eaten breakfast together before he heads off for work. After he leaves, then I spend a good amount of time reading my devotionals, spending time in the word and in prayer, and I have to admit it is a great unrushed start to my day. Then I make myself take a shower and get ready for the day. It just makes me feel better.
Perk 2-Pinterest Catch up- Since summer, my Pinterest boards have been terribly neglected, so I have spent the past four days catching up. I have pinned lots of recipes, baby shower ideas, nursery ideas, some teaching ideas, and more. These pins are giving me random things to do throughout the day. This can be done while laying on the couch with my feet up and the tv on.
Perk 3- Plenty of time to Scrapbook- I love scrapbooking, but rarely have time. I had acutally planned on having each guest at my baby shower create a scrapbooking page for me, so that I could use them to create Miss Eden's scrapbook after she arrives. However, now with all my free time, I have decided to create my own scrapbook for her instead, and I have begun working on it this week. It's something great to do while still relaxing, with my feet up.
Perk 4- Cooking and Baking- This one is somewhat related to Perk 2. Cooking and Baking. I love to do it, but again, rarely do, because I am so busy with school. Most days during this school year, I arrived at 6:30 and left around 4:30. That makes for long days. Then in recent days, I had been walking an hour each day, and that left little time and energy for cooking when I got home. Josh is great about doing it, but it is something I enjoy doing, especially with all the delicious looking ideas that I have pinned on pinterest. So far since I've been off, I have made crock pot beef stew and homemade biscuits, chicken chili, white chocolate chex mix, chicken/black bean/cream cheese/mexican yumminess that you eat on tortillas, a healthy banana nutella smoothie, and I am excited about trying other recipes that I have pinned (especially the crock pot ones.)
I will keep you updated as I think of more perks, but these are the top 4 this week. Don't get me wrong, I still miss my job, I still miss my class (terribly!) But I am trying my best to be thankful for this time. On Friday afternoon, I was lucky enough to be able to skype with my class, and they seemed to have mixed feelings about whether or not I should be resting or at school teaching them. They were so sweet. They didn't want to start thier Christmas party, because they just wanted to talk with me. I love them!
Have a good weekend and a good Christmas. Do something that you enjoy and consider relaxing.
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