Relax

I miss my mother. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer just over a year ago. Mother's Day for me is jumbled with emotion. But, if there is one piece of advice Mama would give me for this Sunday, it would be to R.E.L.A.X.

In thinking about how I might achieve this break from my usual day-to-day, I turn to Mr. Webster to ask what he has to say about relaxing. He says it means "to release or bring relief from the effects of tension, anxiety, etc." Okay, sounds good to me. But what does my relief look like for Mother's Day?

I've already got a tentative plan in mind. I'll wake up as late as possible, which for me is unfortunately 8:00 a.m. (the woes of leaving my twenties behind.) I'll turn on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. Love it. Make my coffee at the commercial and then, depending on whether or not my son comes home from college, I'll make a decision on which Sunday church service to attend. Right now I'm thinking the 11:00. Maybe I'll make my bed, maybe I won't. Whichever relaxes me most is the objective.

After service I'll come home and head out to my garden. Pick up some brown magnolia leaves that have fallen all over the flower beds, dead-head, weed - do anything just to be outside. Gardening takes away my angst. It's like working a crossword puzzle or playing solitare on the computer. It's mindless and stress-less.

The point in sharing any of this is to say there's something to be said about the mundane. We all have to take time to relax whether it's Mother's Day or Wednesday or Labor Day. I don't think it's necessarily about refraining from work per say, but more about taking a break from the battles of the mind. Taking a time-out from worry, mental anguish, fear. No doubt, it's tough to do. But engaging in mindless activities from time-to-time certainly makes it possible.

This Mother's Day, I'm all about whatever mental distraction I can find . . . if only for a day.