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“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” ~Sydney J. Harris
Sydney J. Harris has the right idea. I just came off of a 10 day vacation which I really, really needed. However, the timing couldn’t have been worse. It was at the end of the year when I had so much to do by wrapping up the holidays and working on my plans for the new year, personal and business. There are also other family situations which I am involved in to contribute to the list of plans. And as you can imagine, my stress level was way up there.
It started out as a way to help some friends that recently moved to Key West, Florida. They made their dream a reality. I’m so proud of them! Realizing their dream came about rather suddenly for them, and there were plenty of bumps along their road to success, yet they made it happen all the same.
Their story is rather long so I won’t get into the details, but I will explain how I got involved. They were not able to bring their pickup truck with them. They drove a 26 foot rental truck with their belongings, and their 16 year old beloved cat, 22.5 hours from St. Louis to Key West. We were all concerned about Freckles! Anyone that has a cat knows they do not handle change well. Actually, humans don’t handle change well, and the older we get, handling change gets worse. She had a rough trip but now seems to be thriving in her new home, yay!
The rest of their plan…
Freckles dad was going to have to fly back to St. Louis and drive their pickup truck, with their trailer attached, alone, the 22.5 hours back to Key West, yikes!
My offer to help…
When I heard that he would be making that trip alone, I cringed for him, knowing that he doesn’t like road trips. I, on the other hand, love road trips! Another good friend of ours is also planning to make the move, but it won’t be for awhile. I was sure he would be interested in my offer to help, and he was. My offer was for us to drive their pickup truck and trailer to them in Key West, and fly back home. Needless to say, they loved that idea!
I feel the need to let you know that this wasn’t a selfless offer. The thought of spending a week or so in the warmth and sunshine of Key West was just too good to pass up! The weather in St. Louis at the beginning of each year is frigid, to say the least. Even though I was stressed about all that I needed to do to wrap up last year and plan for the new year, a little more planning for the trip, knowing the end result, did not add to my stress at all.
To wrap up this rambling post, and get back to the point, I am now refreshed, relaxed, have less stress, and ready to finish my planning for the new year. So, to reiterate Sydney’s quote above, “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” That is exactly the time you need to relax the most.
