Time-Out Can Be A Good Thing

Gratitudes:
1. I am grateful God's angels watch over me.
2. I am grateful my van's rear brakes are fixed now.
3. I am grateful for a nap almost every afternoon.
Plan for the day:
1. Since it is already afternoon... well, this evening I'd like to start another inky drawing to be painted with more ink.
2. I plan to wash the dishes - there was no time earlier!
3. I plan to read another chapter in a book.
Currently reading:
1. The Ivy Tree, by Mary Stewart
2. Holy Transformation, by Chip Ingram
3. Amazing Grace, by Eric Metaxas

Today I finally got the new rear brake shoes installed! It was a pleasure to do business with Al. He said the other brake shoes weren't completely worn down and that the rotors are just fine. This came after the Ford dealership told me last year to spend over 800 dollars on brake shoes and new rotors! They also wanted me to buy four new tires because one of mine had a slow leak they claimed was "unfixable." I took the van across the highway to Les Schwab and they fixed the leak for free and told me the tires would be good for at least another year! Since I barely drive the van these days the tires should last longer than that. I spent just slightly over 200 dollars for the rear brake shoes and installation. I'm happy with that.

Truth is, I haven't driven out of town for at least 10 or 11 months now. I drive into town for errands once weekly - and that's only about a mile each way. For this I had to pay auto registration fee of 697 because it is a cargo van. California is crazy. They think I'm a commercial business when I'm actually just a little old lady who wanted a cargo van as an insurance strategy in case I became homeless. Oh well. Live and learn. And I'm not homeless but nearly so. My mobile home burned in a forest fire and I now live in a borrowed travel trailer.

Anyhow, my blog theme today is "Time-out can be a good thing." By that I mean that I need to rest. Not only do I usually need a daily nap, I also need to be kind to myself and not insist on doing things at a frenetic pace when I'm seventy years old for goodness sake. I can do things slowly, I can rest, I can take days off. It is okay, and I just want to say that to myself in this blog post today. It is okay not to be perfect. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to be slow and meandering when others want to go faster than need be.

I watched episode one of a season of The Amazing Race today (I subscribe to Paramount Plus.) I heard one person say, "Slow and steady wins the race," as she started out on her journey. I quickly thought, "Maybe not in this kind of race." But truly, it is better not to push oneself beyond endurance and I have a precious opportunity not to have to do that. I find the pace of The Amazing Race to be faster than I enjoy, and don't often watch it. All that rushing around drives me crazy and the music they use doesn't help. 

To be honest, I usually have more energy when I remember to take all my vitamins. I have a tea-table covered with supplement bottles. They truly do work to help me feel better. If I remembered to take them all every day maybe I wouldn't ever need to rely on a nap to get me through the day.