…favorite ways to unwind.
My favorite thing in the world is relaxing. And I mean relaxing – I think it’s because it’s something we didn’t do for years. Until just a few years ago, if it wasn’t sports and school activities for the kids, we were overscheduling ourselves socially.
We wanted to rest, but we were made to feel guilty doing so thanks to a severe lack of boundaries that my therapist and I discussed at length (I learned, struggled, and finally began implementing boundaries, and learned quickly that setting boundaries is the single most important thing you’ll do in life).
It certainly wasn’t easy to say no to people who took our ‘no, thank you,’ personally any time an invitation was declined because we needed a break, but it taught us important lessons: One, you cannot take boundaries personally (they’re not about you, they’re about the people making them and Two, the people who have the biggest issue with you setting boundaries are the people who don’t respect you. Thankfully, we persevered, made changes where they were needed, and now our hard boundaries are second nature – and we finally get to rest, relax, and do so without guilt.
That said, relaxing and resting feel different for everyone. What you find relaxing probably is not what I find relaxing, and vice versa. And that’s all right. We all need to do what feels good to us and stop worrying about everyone else – another freeing feeling, friends.
That said – it’s Friday! That means it’s time for me to share my Friday Four, and this week it’s all about my four favorite ways to unwind, relax, rest, and make myself happy in the midst of living this gorgeous life with my sweet family.
Number One: Reading
Honestly, if you know me at all, you already know this about me. My single favorite thing to do in the world is sit down with a book and read, which I do as often as possible. I read in bed before I fall asleep. I read, cuddled up on my couch in cozy clothes on rainy days. I read in a bikini on my pool deck so I can multitask and add a killer tan to my otherwise Norwegian-toned skin. I read when I’m on a plane. I take myself to lunch and read at my table or at the bar while I enjoy a meal and a cocktail. I read in the school pick-up lines.
Bottom line…I read. It’s like air. I need it. I need books and my imagination to run wild and to solve mysteries in my mind. It’s a creative person’s problem, but it’s a good problem.
Number Two: Movie Night with My Family
Friday nights are so important for our family. Sadly, we don’t get to spend every Friday night doing this thanks to having a cheerleader who spends all fall Friday nights on the sidelines while we’re cheering her on in the stands. But when we don’t have sports, we are at home on Friday nights. We usually order dinner and have our teenager pick it up for us, everyone showers and gets comfy by like 6 pm, and we are on the couch with a family-friendly movie on television. We always have fun desserts on movie nights, too. It just sets the tone for a lovely weekend.
And if you want some of our kids’ favorite movies – I’ll tell you, but you might be surprised.
- Harry Potter (starting in order, obviously)
- Ocean’s Eleven (and subsequent Ocean’s movies)
- Anything Adam Sandler
- The Italian Job
- Freaky Friday and Freakier Friday
- The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan’s version, obviously)
There are a million more – our kids love a police procedural and a comedy, and we don’t disagree. I should also mention we do love watching a great television show with the kids, too. They’ve got great taste (Designated Survivor, The Rookie, Fire Country, Tracker, The Lincoln Lawyer). They also like a good serial killer documentary (or any good documentary, to be honest).
Number Three: Sacred Sundays
There are occasions on which Sunday is a social day for us – and that’s all right. However, Sundays are sacred almost always. It’s a day of rest, relaxation, and unwinding. We spend it at home. We sleep late. We walk the dog. We cook breakfast. Craig makes a decadent and delicious meal for dinner. We might spend the day in the pool. We might spend the day doing our own things or playing games or whatever, but Sundays are for staying in, being comfy, and not making plans.
Number Four: Puzzles
We do love a puzzle, and we like them themed. Seasonally themed, of course. We can sit down and put together a puzzle as a family and enjoy it for hours at a time, and we can come back to it for days until it’s done. Charlotte, our youngest daughter, is surprisingly good at them, too. She’ll pop into the room, pick up a piece, look at it, and suddenly have 20 pieces put together to insert into the puzzle when we are ready. Then she’ll excuse herself, snack a bit, and repeat the process. She has such an eye.
We are pretty much in agreement that 500 pieces is the sweet spot for puzzles in our house. The perfect size to spread out on our coffee table and still have plenty of space, large enough to present a challenge, but not so many pieces that we have to have it on the coffee table for days on end. I really should get a travel puzzle table to use when we do larger puzzles.
I have mentioned before that I’d happily become a hermit if allowed, right? Like, I’d never leave my house for anything, ever. And if these four favorites aren’t indicative of just how much I mean that, I really don’t know what to tell you.
What’s your favorite way to relax?
Tiffany Raiford 