A Week of Nothing

I finally did it. I logged on to my payroll account and requested a whole work week off. That’s five days of absolutely nothing to do: no trips, no plans, nothing. What felt initially like a useless and regretful act, has become a bold and adventurous possibility.

My time off comes a mere five days before my weekend road trip. It’s nothing fancy, but some time to unwind, catch up, and get myself back on track with my exercise routine. After the holidays, I was bombarded with client time and paperwork and it felt as if I would never get out from the under the workload. Well, I was wrong. I’ve caught up, thankfully, and now I’m ready to do nothing productive for five days.

I’m surprised to see how excited I am as that time slowly approaches. I find myself itching to make another to-do list, to plan those days off but then I find myself stopping midway. This time, there will be no planning. I will simply wake up each day and accomplish what I feel like doing on that particular day.

Secretly, I do wish there was a special trip planned. Another opportunity to explore a new place or region, but it didn’t work out that way. Besides, my weekend road trip will take care of that need. So I’m spending my five days off doing what I wish I were doing when I’m at work. You know those moments: you’re traveling from point A to point B and something catches your eye and you exclaim how you wish you had time to do that. Or when you’re browsing through your favorite magazine and you come across a model with the most perfect pedicure and exclaim, one day I’m going to get one.

What will I accomplish with this nothingness? Some time to myself, no distractions or interruptions or the need to run at the last minute between one errand to another. And when the road trip approaches, I will look at my new surroundings with the awe of a curious two-year-old, breathlessly taking in everything that is new and imagining anything that could be. Then I’ll be ready to do my best again when I head for work Monday morning.