Hey You! Always On the Run
"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down" - Lily Tomlin.
I was having one of those weeks.
The old water tank that had been clinging on to it's last thread of life finally gave out, leaving us with cold showers. I am only lucky that summer is pretty much here, so while uncomfortable, it hasn't been completely unbearable.
The caterer called to say that they had accidentally double-booked themselves.
Slammed my finger in the door, which in turn broke a nail. No I don't mean 'oh no, I broke a nail'....I mean it's broken in half. I'll spare you the gory details.
On top of that, the garden I had booked for my wedding called to say they could only accommodate 100 people. My parent's guest list alone was 150 or so, leaving me a ball of stress.
"Oh man," said Katie to me this morning when I dragged my feet into the office. She looked at me like she'd just seen something really unpleasant crawl out from the apple she was eating.
"I know," I snapped, "my whole life is falling apart!"
"There, there....tell Aunt Katie all about it." She pulled a seat out and offered me a bit of her apple. I felt an apple martini would've been a better choice but seeing as we were in working hours, I gingerly took a bite and launched into my tragic tale.
"....so now I have to find a new venue and new caterers, and I just don't have time. I should just get married in Vegas, or even better! I might as well just cancel the whole wedding and just live in a house with cats" I finished off.
Katie took slow, deliberate bites of her apple, and chewed each bite carefully before taking another bite. Finally, she threw the core in the thrash can and reached into her oversized purse.
"Look....take this." She handed me a voucher. I took a look, confused. It was a $20 gift card for Walmart.
"I'd say go to a spa for a facial and a massage, but who's got 500 bucks lying around?? Instead...go to Walmart and grab yourself some bath salts, scented candles, a face mask and some moisturizer...it might not be exactly the same thing, but sometimes a bath to just chill out can really help."
"...what's the moisturizer for?"
"Well, the moisturizer has two purposes. The first is, when you get out after soaking, it keeps the skin soft. The second is, give your legs and arms a massage. Or tell the hubby to be to give you a full body massage..you should probably start training him anyway!"
I couldn't help but wonder I hadn't thought of such a thing earlier. I guess I was too busy stressing, to take a moment to de-stress.
"So how often to do you this?" I asked Katie.
"Oh...every other day. Haven't you noticed? I never stress." She smiled, got up and walked back to her desk.
I carefully tucked the voucher away into a secret compartment of my purse, a new sort of energy flowing through me.
The weekend couldn't come fast enough, ironically, to give me that minute to slow down.
Posted by Jacqueline H.
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