The Sabbath Experiment -- week 23

Bella, Vincent and Theo in (and outside of) my office

As I sit here on this sunny Monday afternoon, I can't seem to erase the images of the past three days. Images of a broken world, shattered, flooded, forever changed. As bodies wash up on the shores of Japan, it makes me stop and think about how truly fragile each life is.

I think about children washed away by a giant wave. I think about the vibrant, positive, seemingly healthy Dr. Richard Carlson (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff), who, at the age of 45, dropped dead of a heart attack on an airplane. I think about my late husband who headed out to work one night, with his characteristic spring in his step and optimism, not knowing about the deadly fire just a few short hours away. I think about death. I think about never-born babies. I think about today. About how many people will pass from this life to the next today. I think about my phone ringing in the pre-dawn hours of this Monday and how my first thought was about my mother.

Life. It is soooo fragile. Today might be your last. It might be mine. What are we doing with the time we have?

Yesterday was week 23 of my Sabbath Experiment. This week didn't involve church because I was home sick. What exactly is wrong with me? We're not sure yet, but it looks like mumps. That, in and of itself, is not so bad. I'm tired, achy, have a constant headache and an obscenely swollen face. It's the complications that concern me, which include meningitis, inflamed ovaries and deafness. Deafness would definitely not be good, since I make part of my living being a voice over talent.

While it would have been a good day to not work and celebrate rest, I must admit I was quite tired of resting. Good Doctor Dave ordered me to rest when I saw him last week. No work. He even offered a written excuse, but since I work for myself, I found that to be a bit unnecessary. I got home from his office and settled into mine, typing out apologies to clients who were expecting certain things from me that would now be undone. Deadlines would be missed and there wasn't much I could do about it.

So yesterday, while lounging in bed with my laptop and remote control, I chose to work, a little bit. But the work I was doing was actually so enjoyable, I didn't mind. I landed a gig on Saturday tweeting for a best-selling author. He's actually one of my favorites and, as it turns out, I have seven of his books on my shelves in my office. He just needs ten quotes from his books posted to Twitter each week. So I spent some time perusing the novels and gleaning the harvest of words meant to inspire and entertain. I couldn't help thinking, this is work?! So, while I was technically working, I was in bed resting the whole time and enjoying every minute. Rationalization? Maybe. But that's the way I spent part of my day. Good literature feeds the soul and I feel well fed. I love a good story.

Spent a little bit of time in the evening playing Bananagrams with my husband, a daily activity for us lately. How cool is it that I am married to a man who enjoys playing word games. He knows he can't beat me, but he wants to play nonetheless. I am one lucky woman!

So, here I am. Feeling rested after days of not doing much in the line of working. But let me tell you -- I'm looking forward to going back to 12 hour days followed by one day of rest. In the meantime, I think I'll head back to bed for awhile.

Enjoy your week.

Hana