Three day weekend!

I requested a vacation day today. I wasn't going on vacation, nor did I have any plans. For the past several months, I have only requested vacation or sick days to do something I didn't want to do or to take care of someone else. I have taken time off for doctor's appointments and to help Drew and my dad after surgery. I believe the only other day I requested off was to clean my house. How sad is that? We are so busy that I actually had to take a vacation day from work to clean my dirty house.

One of my co-workers knew I was going camping this past weekend and suggested that I take off on Monday. My immediate thought was that there was no way I was taking off for absolutely no reason. Then, as the day progressed, I realize I needed to recharge my batteries. I realized that I had been walking around like a flashlight with low batteries. There was maybe a little light coming through, but not enough to really do the trick. Sometimes I needed to be shaken up a little to really start doing what I needed to do. I needed to be recharged.

So, against my better judgement, I turned in the request for time off and felt completely guilty the entire time. After all, what was I going to do on Monday if I wasn't at work? I knew that my house was clean. The laundry was done. The checkbook was balanced. The errands have all been run. Why couldn't I just go to work?

Well, now it is Monday and I am thanking God for my co-worker who pushed me to take the day off. After 8 hours of sleep (yes, you heard me!!) I am feeling relaxed and happy. I have big plans to visit my grandma, get a manicure and pedicure, and finish a book I started this weekend.

I absolutely love my job and the people at my job. But, I am a hard worker. I work all day, take work home at night, and work on the weekends to stay caught up. I think I have earned this day and I am allowing the guilty feelings to pass. After all, I know that I will accomplish more in a 4-day week with charged batteries than I would in a 5-day week with no energy.