Coming home from vacation can be hard. Going from laying on the beach, bobbing in the ocean, eating homemade ice cream and sleeping in, to a quiet house filled with many to-do lists can be very disconcerting. What if every day could be vacation? I know I need to be grateful for the time that I did have, but that time gives me a taste of what I want, a relaxing life without stress. Good luck is what most people might say, you have to win the lottery, get rich in order to have a stress free life. Now I am not about to spout a Pollyanna view off, I know that in three weeks school will start and I will be busy 24 hours a day. But how can I bring in the ease that I felt at the beach to my daily life? Picking apart the time to see what is underneath the surface may be a place to start. While at the shore I allowed myself to sleep in and to nap on the beach. Is there a time during a busy week in which I could allow myself the luxury of a nap? I know that when I slept in those few days I felt a sense of peace, I didn’t need to inject caffeine into my veins 24/7. This week, before the onslaught of homework, mine and my teenage son’s, I might just see if I can limit myself to a cup of coffee in the morning and switch to green tea. Just because our physical trips do not last, the effects can, if I only allow them to. I don’t have to suffer everyday, trudging through my life. I can bring a little relaxation into everyday with just a small shift. That shift could just be grace.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
Leave a comment