We live in a success-driven society, and I find myself falling right in line with its expectations.  I work hard at my job; I exercise; I try to cook healthy dinners at night with my husband (I don’t like cooking, but my craving for home-cooked meals wins); I have a multitude of crafty projects I want to complete at all times; and I want to PASS MY TEST DAMN IT.  Usually I can stick to my routine without a problem, but every several months, my body protests. I used to ignore signs of burnout until it was too late, but  I’ve learned to read these signs more carefully than I used to.  When I start dreading my morning workouts and make simple but careless mistakes at work, I know it’s time for a physical and mental recharge.

It happened to me this week – I was doing ALL the things until I noticed I was feeling listless in the mornings.  I wasn’t focused at work. So I took it easy – I skipped my morning workout on Thursday and did very easy, restorative yoga Friday morning.  I went on a leisurely run Thursday evening, not worrying about pace or distance.  I felt really good at the end of it.  And instead of studying at night, I curled up on the couch with Husband to watch Parks and Rec and work on this baby blanket:

I’ve been a little extra on social media about reminding everyone that this baby blanket is NOT FOR ME.  I only say this because Husband and I were married for two hours before well-meaning friends were asking us about our future children at our wedding.  I mean – I definitely want kids, but one major life change at a time, please.

This baby blanket is for some friends of ours who are currently expecting.  We got the little shark toy from a cute shop we visited in Maui.  I can’t wait to send them this package! I just need to wash the blanket first (since Apollo decided this blanket was his), and block it.  I used Loops & Threads “Snuggly Wuggly Big!” yarn for this blanket, in the colorway “Petal Dots.” I used the Sonoma Baby Afghan pattern that came with the yarn.  This pattern took exactly a month to complete!

Several days of self-care was just the tonic I needed. I feel recharged and ready to tackle my to-do list.