Respite

There's a concept in foster care training regarding respite care. The idea is that foster care can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining, and foster parents need to take some time for themselves to rest and recharge. I'm not very good about providing myself with respite care.

Since everything is open on Sundays, there's no sense that we should stop running errands or cleaning the house, or scheduling fun activities for our kids. For a parent, these things aren't necessarily restful though. I do try to not schedule any hours at my paying job(s) during those days, but it does occasionally happen. With either schedule, I still feel busy and run down by the end of every day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very good at being lazy and procrastinating, but that's not the same thing as rest. God didn't rest on the seventh day because He had been playing Clash of Clans in between creating the world, He rested because He had actually spent time, energy, and power in creating something truly good.

Maybe we've given up the respite because we aren't working hard at something good, but despite that, we still need a mental, and sometimes physical break from the activity around us. We need to recharge and regroup and rest our minds.

You may (or may not) have noticed that Fiction Friday hasn't been happening lately. It's not that I haven't had the time, it's more that I haven't had that time to just sit and think and be creative. I've been over-scheduling my hours, and under-scheduling my rest time, and ignoring the few minutes in between in favor of escapism over creative thinking.

Because of a change in my primary work-at-home job, I won't be able to work any hours next week, and I don't have any secondary jobs currently scheduled. What will I do with this extra time? Will I use it to truly rest my mind or body? Will I use it to complete more good activities like raking the leaves and finally getting around to cleaning the bathrooms again? Whichever way I end up going, hopefully I will find some mental rest and creativity during this upcoming week.

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