Most of you readily agree with me when I suggest that you need to schedule more fun stuff into your life. But – you then go on – it is not possible right now. I will do it but when the baby is older/ the house renovations are finished/ the project at work is completed/ the diet is done/ the loan is paid off/ the spring clean is done/ the divorce final/ the wedding over etc. etc.
Yeah right.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that place where everything is done and the fun and relaxation can begin is a mythical place – like Olympus or Valhalla. IT DOESN’T EXIST!
Because just as your child is getting older you’ll then decide to have another child or to get a dog; when your stressful project is completed your boss gives you another big assignment (after all you did such a great job with the previous one); when the loan is paid out you decide to start to renovate etc. etc.
It’s called life.
Recently a colleague at work said to me (with that disapproving frown that some mothers seem to do so well – and this wasn’t even a woman): “you certainly take a lot of holidays.” All I could replay was: “what am I supposed to wait for?” My kids are at an age where they still think we’re the best people to hang out with and anyone with teenage kids knows that that won’t last.
And then, of course, there’s the fact that none of us knows what will happen in the future. People get sick or die, natural (or man-made) disasters strike, accidents happen, your financial situations change for the worse etc.
So, don’t waste time please. Take that family holiday that you long for, invite that special person for a drink, have that girl’s night out that you’ve been planning for months, take the kids to Disney world, spend a day being pampered or flying a hot air balloon, spend a weekend making a shed or take a cruise.
Whatever takes your fancy – just do it!