After I wrote my first post, I spent the next hour shoveling six inches of snow off our driveway with my husband and son. About halfway through, my back was getting far too comfortable at a 90 degree angle and it hurt to stand up straight. Ethan, my ten-year old son, asked "How much longer until we're done?" I kept trying to estimate how many minutes it would take for us to complete the task, and reminded him that I was cold and wet too. As usual, manual labor takes much longer than we think it will. Frustration was starting to build.
Instead of another optimistic estimate, I tried another approach. I told Ethan that being on vacation makes me want to work hard when I get home. Coming from an entire week of no dishes, no chores and complete leisure and amusement actually created this drive in me to shovel with some gusto! I don't know if it was much of a pep talk for him, but I had a wintery epiphany. Regular cycles of work and rest are important for happiness! Too much relaxation makes us lazy and too much work makes us grumpy, and our bodies know when it's time to return to work and back to our normal schedule.
Case in point: Last Friday, after three days at the parks we offered the kids another day in the Magic Kingdom or we could leave and go home to see their cousins. Guess what they chose? Yup, their cousins. Sometimes the daily grind is more exciting than Dumbo.
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