It is a rainy day at the beach, but the past 24 hours have brought a number of savoring opportunities! Every day this week, I’m planning in (or taking note of) small patches of enjoyment. As part of the Daily Vacation Challenge (which I talk about in Off the Clock) I really try to notice these good moments. I document them here afterwards, because recounting the fun helps stretch the experience of time.
Anyway, yesterday, we had two stretches of adult socialization. My brother and a friend came to visit us, and after our afternoon beach trip, we sat at the kitchen table chatting. The 3-year-old was napping, which always feels like a vacation in its own right. Then some friends who have a house in this beach town came over around 9 p.m. to drink wine on the balcony. The beach breezes were great.
I didn’t have access to my phone during either of these chats. Quite nice, really!
Two other little vacations: this morning, I went for a quick run (in the rain) and came back before people were up and about. I drank my coffee at a leisurely pace, sitting in that kitchen and listening to the rain.
Then — a more major feeling of leisure — my husband took the older boys to see Jurassic World number five or whatever it’s called, and our nanny (who’s here now) took the little kids to some bouncy house nearby. So I listened to the rain and finished Middlemarch. Being able to read to the end of an epic book — in the middle of the day! — certainly feels like a vacation.
They’re all going to be back soon, so now I’m racing to get my work done (since that was the ostensible reason for not going to either the movie or bouncy house — and I did have a phone call and have been doing some other things). But I think carving out the time to finish my book was the right choice.
Expectations are infinite. Time is finite. You are always choosing. Choose well.
More on that phrase later — I also received a bunch of potential cover concepts for Juliet’s School of Possibilities (my next book, due out in March), and I savored looking at those. A cover makes a book feel real.
What have you savored during this last day of the Daily Vacation Challenge?
Photo: Not the mug I used at the beach rental, but you get the drift.
I missed this challenge, but it’s a good one…I’ll give it a go July 9-14
Is the Juliet book a novel?
@nj – a novella! It’s a time management fable. So with a message about time, but with a real plot, real characters, all that (I promise!) I’m really excited about it. The perfect intersection of various interests.
I’ve really enjoyed this series this week, thank you. It articulates something I’ve tried to do for a while. So when I (from Australia) finally get to your book, I think my review will be about this!
Meantime, a few savouring moments from this week and other times that this series brought back to me:
– I work in a corporation with a great art collection. Sitting in a meeting quietly fuming because I was the only one on time, I suddenly noticed that on the wall was an Arthur Stretton (one of the best Australian impressionists). Savouring that moment and the painting made my day (and bonus, meant I was much more effective when the rest of the meeting finally arrived)
– I work very close to the Chinese Gardens in Sydney – costs $5 for a visit, or $50 for an annual pass. Because it costs to get in, it is a peaceful oasis in the middle of Sydney on the busiest days. A half hour there at any time of the day is a moment to savour, which I realised when I bought the annual pass last year. I hadn’t been at all the previous two years despite working next door.
– And this weekend I went to my annual singing weekend – 100 people on a singing retreat learning 4 or 5 songs for the weekend. Many moments to savour, but the one that stays with me was at the beginning. As an early getting to know you warm up, we hummed Amazing Grace. Hearing 100 people spontaneously harmonise Amazing Grace was an amazing moment.
Thank you for the savouring and micro vacation concepts – it gives me language to a great way of thinking.
@Jennifer – thanks for this! (love the humming Amazing Grace). As for the art – I imagine a reasonable number of companies do have interesting art work, and that is a great thing to actually notice, rather than passing by unnoticed. Certainly something to savor (or at least make a meeting more pleasant!)