Back to Life...Back to Reality

Now that I'm back in the real world, I've been pleasantly surprised to see just how easy it's been to ease back into things. The first week back at work went so much better then I had anticipated. It's not as if I thought things would fall apart in my absence, I just know how busy things have been and fully expected there to be a lot on my plate when I finally made it back from my three week trip. So what a pleasant surprise to come back and find that I didn't have an intense and stressful workload to welcome me back.

I love my co-workers and completely appreciate how hard they all worked and how much slack they picked up so that I didn't turn into a crazy lunatic upon my arrival back at work.

I also found that I really did a great job of taking care of myself and trying to maintain a personal balance. Clancy and I started off our days going for a walk, doing a set of the stairs, trying a little bit of running. I came home, made myself breakfast, actually sat down at the table to eat and read a magazine and then took a shower, put on normal people clothing and then started work.

For some of you this may seem crazy that I'm pointing out such a normal routine- you know, things like showering and wearing clean clothing. But when you work from home, it's so easy to roll out of bed and plant your ass at your desk and work from the wee hours of the morning well into the late night hours. Sometimes you work only in pajamas, or you may graduate to sweat pants and a t-shirt. Maybe you'll lose track of when the last time was you took a shower. These are the glamorous realities of someone who works from home.

While I was on vacation, it was great to get up, take a shower and make myself look presentable before going out into the real world. It was a great way to start the day and I realized that I needed to make that simple change upon coming home.

Last week I found that I felt so much better when I started work at a normal hour AFTER doing some things for myself. I loved being outside first thing in the morning. I loved starting the day with a nice, healthy meal. It was just really nice and something I'm hopeful I'll continue.

This week I'm in San Diego for work and I'm actively trying to build some Molly time into this trip. I've had a whirlwind of a month and after last Saturday, I'm happy to see all the birthday celebrations come to an end and allow life to resume back to normal as much as possible.

All in all, it feels good to be home. I'm still doing a good job of being mindful of how I spend my time and I'm feeling the benefits of how that affects me mentally and physically. And I like how it feels.