Do you need a break?
Life presses in on us, squeezing us, making us squirm. Yet, we hold out hope that it will subside, that we will get away and know relief.
I was blessed with a getaway recently. I took a trip to visit distant family. The relief from the daily grind was nearly instantaneous. Those knots in my shoulders, Sigfried and Roy, the ones that had been driving me crazy, stayed home.
The zany multi-tasking schedule that is my daily routine faded from view. The responsibilities of helping with caretaking of a person with a severe illness - those lessened too, though in their place came a wave of guilt that others were doing more to "cover" for me.
One of the guilty pleasures I rediscovered was reading. How did I get so busy that I don't have time to read? That is so wrong.
Other guilty pleasures hovered at the corners of my mind: walking at a strolling pace (instead of walking to burn calories), getting a massage, enjoying the company of others (real people, not the ones I'm inventing for books), yoga, watching the waves roll in, lunch with the girls, chick flicks, playing my guitar, and more.
These are things I used to do for leisure activities, before I got so busy. These are things I intend to do again.
Please comment with your guilty pleasure (keep it PG, please!). I will give away a copy of one of my books, your choice, to a lucky commenter. The winner will be announced on Saturday, July 7, so it isn't too late to comment. Don't forget to leave an address if you want to be considered for the drawing!
Maggie Toussaint
Mystery and Romance author
www.maggietoussaint.com
Maggie, I never feel guilty about reading or a massage. I do feel guilty about my addiction to bad movies, but it's just so relaxing to spend an afternoon sprawled across the couch watching sappy, silly, badly acted movies. Because I know it's going to be bad, my expectations are low.
ReplyDeleteHi Keena, I have a confession to make. I like the same kind of movies that you like. The ones that are too glossy and perfect don't do anything for me. It's like that famous quote from Dodgeball "aim low!"
DeleteThanks for sharing!
So many to choose from, but really a manicure/pedicure would have to be near the top of the list. Such a little thing, but I feel so guilty spending the cash!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, That sounds like a relatively inexpensive luxury to me! Go for it. And If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, be sure and leave/send me your email.
DeleteIt seems like my guilty pleasure is shared by many. I like to watch B-movies. The acting is lame and the special affects are stupid, but to me, they are entertaining.
ReplyDeletemom1248(at)att(dot)net
Hi Patsy,
DeleteWelcome to the B-movie club. There's something for all of us out there! If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, make sure I have some way to contact you.
Guilty pleasures--I like to pretend I'm not home. I'll tell friends, church people, we plan on going out of town this day and this one...but I lie a little. I do go for two days, but I pretend it took a week--"Oh, sorry I didn't get back to you--our trip took a little longer, but hey...we're home at last." Sad, isn't it, to be so pathetically lazy to invent a way to avoid contact (the kinds that wants me to do something.)
ReplyDeleteI have more, but probably shouldn't confess everything.
You made me laugh, Celia. I like hiding out too. Trouble for me is that I live in town. A small town at that, and everyone knows where you park at your house and what your car looks like.
DeleteBut oh, those times of golden silence are priceless, aren't they?
Maggie, these should not be guilty pleasures, but healthy activities and relaxation. I think as we got so busy writing we lost our perspective of what is normal and natural. My guilty pleasure would be to lay down on a lounge chair on the beach and read, or walk on the sand. Why are emails, blogs and promo more important now?
ReplyDeleteBTW you wrote:
<> You mean JULY?
Thank you Mona, for catching that typo. I meant to write July and so now I've corrected it.And as I'm writing this I'm making so many mistakes. Time to refuel at lunch.
DeleteAs for the other, it seems there's a perceived value in always being socially connected. We don't want to miss anything, so the pressure is on to stay connected. Or at least, that's my take on it.
My guilty pleasure is cheesy television. I love "Three's Company" and other absolutely silly TV shows! Don't tell. * laughs * Great post, Maggie! I love your blog, and your books look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteauthor.rosa.sophia (at) gmail (dot) com
Hi Rosa, I like cheesy TV as well. Remember Alf? He was the alien from outer space that lived with a family? One of my favs. Chuck? Another fav. Psych? Fav.
DeleteThree's Company was great fun. Thanks for stopping in and good luck in the drawing!
I'm mundane...my guilty pleasure of late has been crawling up with a good book to read or my computer and then putting both aside to become engrossed by MasterChef or Chopped. The irony --- I don't even cook that often, but it certainly is a mindless escape!
ReplyDeleteMost Sundays I hike, leaving hubby home alone. I reconnect with nature, the trees, the boulders, the bird songs. I take tons of pictures so I can revisit any time I want. Some are on my website. I return home a few hours later a happier more responsive person.
ReplyDeleteCarole, I love the idea of enjoying nature and of snapping shots. I often can lose myself in pictures. And its wonderful that you can achieve that kind of peace with just a couple of hours. I'm going to click over and take a look at your site right now!
DeleteMaggie, I do enjoy walking at a strolling pace. I could walk for hours if I didn't have so much to do. LOL!! I enjoy a bit of wine from time to time. Reading is also another activity I enjoy but don't have enough time for it. Heck, I'm on vacation now and I need a vacation from the vacation.
ReplyDeleteSmiles
Steph
Hi Steph, We enjoy many of the same things! One day when your kids are grown and on their way, we need to get together for a strolling, a read, and a glass of wine.
DeleteHi, Maggie. I can't believe that when I was full time teaching (all that marking and prep taking up lots of my so called leisure time) I still managed to read approx 4-5 novels a week. Now that I'm serious about my writing, in fact am writing 80% of my week, I'm hardly reading for leisure now. If I manage to read a couple from my TBR pile I'm doing well so what are my guilty pleasures just now? How about Blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc...Oh, Dear!
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy, I feel your reading pain. It hardly seems fair that there's not time to read for pleasure. We all stay connected through all these social media platforms and carving out time for much more takes an act of Congress. I feel like I should remember why I got into writing - I love reading a good book - and continue to read as I write.
DeleteI don't know about you, but I often use the excuse of not wanting to get another storyline in my head as I'm trying to get one down on paper. But if that were true, I wouldn't watch TV either. But I do watch TV so I'm going to make sure that I find time to read.
My guilty pleasure? Hmmmm. . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in your books!
Cheers,
Theresa
http://www.ReviewsByTdeV.com
What a great answer, Theresa! I hope my books become a necessary guilty pleasure.
DeleteMy guilty pleasure is sitting on the beach during summer in late afternoon (4-7 pm) drinking champagne with friends and talking while I should be at home making dinner. I don't get to do this often since we all vacation at different times, but when we do get together, it's a pleasure--Guilty!
ReplyDeleteEB,
DeleteI'm with you on the beach sitting. I can sit for hours and watch the shore and the wind and the people at the beach. Around here, I can find very crowded beaches or I can prevail on my sister to take me out to one of the offshore islands where there's not another soul on the beach. That's a wonderful feeling, gazing out upon the empty shore, being part of nature.
As for dinner, we've had BLTs for two nights in a row now. As far as I'm concerned, BLTs are the perfect summer treat.
My guilty pleasure is going out to eat by myself with my kindle - LOL. Not much, but its such a little slice of self indulgence.
ReplyDeletekerryjcj@verizon.net
HI Kerry,
DeleteIsn't it funny that we've become so busy that a little self-indulgence feels like a guilty pleasure? I'm the same way. There's always something that needs to be done. The key is to turn down all the noise and just enjoy.
Thanks for stopping in!
I started writing about my winner and I got distracted by this, that and the other. I'm selecting two winners today.
ReplyDeleteWinner 1 = kerryjc@verizon.net
Winner 2 = author.rosa.sophia
I've just notified you both by email. Congratulations, winners!