Its funny how you can continue to function despite the fact that you are slowly unraveling without really noticing. Then only when you actually set out to unwind do you realise that you had pushed yourself almost to the limit.

Recently we decided that it was well past our due date to utilise our timeshare allocation and have a week away from home. As per usual I left the booking until almost too late, and there was only one unit left within reasonable driving distance and that turned out to be only twenty five minutes from home. Oh well, when you actually get there you could really be anywhere so it doesn’t matter much. So I grabbed it and a week later we headed off. I did better this time as I actually packed our clothes the day before we left, but still ended up with not enough clothes for warm weather — it is difficult to pack for that when it is twelve degrees and raining hard. So I ended up with lots of winter clothes, and not enough summer. But you don’t know anybody there and who cares anyway if you wear the same outfit several times. It just means there is less washing to do when you get home again.

As I said you could be anywhere and it felt like we were isolated from our normal world — the best type of holiday I think. But by the time we arrived and unpacked the car I felt like a limp dishrag. There was no energy left in my tank because I’d pushed myself to the max in the week leading up to the escape. Really, I look back now and see that I’d been doing things a bit too hard for quite some time, but as it is a gradual descent to exhaustion, you don’t really notice what is happening until it’s too late. I guess I’d been thinking that as I’m semi-retired and only working one day a week that I didn’t need a break away from home, I felt guilty for even suggesting that there was a need for a break and that it was a luxury.

So the first few days were spent either napping or sprawled out on the sofa with a novel. It took almost four of the seven days to feel good again. But as we had no real schedule except for some walks along the beach barefoot — grounding — or the daily swim and spa it didn’t matter.

So luxury or not, it is vital to our well-being to get away and have a break from the daily grind. It isn’t the same just lounging around home doing nothing, because there is always something that needs doing to make you feel lazy for not attending to it.

Now I’ve made a promise to myself that I won’t let everything get out of hand again before I see the need to unwind for a bit. My intention is to take better care and indulge in a week away more often — well before I get to the unraveling stage — because I really do deserve it.