Taking A Day Off

Thursday 11th June

I took a day off with my family. It was planned that we would go out to Liverpool to look around the Tate, taking the train whatever the weather, but as it turned out it was a gorgeous sunny day. Sunglasses all around for the three Ryders, and our daughter was especially enjoying the new places that we passed walking along the dock towards the gallery. It was around her snack time when we arrived, excited because this was the first time that we had taken her to a gallery.

We stopped for a cuppa, she ate her rice cake and drank some water…and promptly fell asleep.

Change Of Plans

At almost 21 months old she is down to just one 90-120 minute nap during the day now, so we decided to do something else instead. We would come back to the Tate another day, but as the sunshine was so nice, we decided to take a walk, daughter in buggy, and us with our sunglasses on. Walking around the dock, taking a route that we wouldn’t normally travel through Liverpool One, stopping in shops we’ve not noticed before on Bold Street – my wife and I had a great time just being out and about, not being at home thinking about bills or chores or making a cuppa or any of the other hundred-and-one things that you feel that you have to do or think about because you’re at home.

We stopped at a restaurant that’s becoming a favourite, Bakchich, and enjoyed a lovely lunch as a family, before setting off for more wandering in and out of shops on Bold Street. It was only mid-afternoon, but we decided that rather than head back to the docks we would get the train back home and have ice cream instead! This was a real treat for us all, and a joy as well to watch my daughter eat from an ice cream cone. Very messy, as I’m sure you can imagine, but lovely all the same.

Relapse

We got home just before 4pm, and I had a moment of panic: “Oh my gosh I need to check my email and to see if that invoice was paid and I need to do some writing and what if I’ve forgotten something!” I spent an hour or so in the office, and did get a few things done, but really it was unnecessary – they could have waited. It just felt, when I get home, that I needed to get something done. Maybe that’s good, maybe that’s bad, I don’t know.

I find it difficult to take time for myself during “work days” or days that I think are work days. Even when the day is arranged in advance it seems. Why is that, I wonder? I’m not sure, but it does get me thinking that along with a SANE habit that I’m cultivating on writing and another on reading, perhaps I need to think in a SANE way about taking breaks too… I wish I could remember where I read a sentiment recently that boiled down to: “to have work-life balance, think about taking your life into your work” – or something similar. I think that there’s something in that, I’m just wondering now how I go about doing it more… What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)