Wednesday is my day of rest. For those of you that know me or follow my social media threads, it may look like I have a lot of days of rest, and I do take advantage of everyday and adventure that comes my way, but when I am home, I rest Wednesdays and Saturdays from working out. A few weeks ago, my Mom asked if I would like to start swimming with her in the morning and I thought - Self, this is a perfect thing to do on Wednesday - a day of rest! - so this morning we got into the pool.
We didn't do laps with traditional strokes, we didn't run, no, we stretched, we meandered, we talked to birds and IT WAS PERFECT. Last Wednesday, I shifted my day of rest to be Tuesday as there was a fear of missing out on a benchmark I had been working so hard to hit. This Wednesday, I did no such thing. This Wednesday I embraced the chance to spend an hour with my Mom in a pool, not sunning ourselves, not worrying about anything other than giving our muscles the stretching they needed and our souls the mother daughter cleanse they needed (as Mom and I really can only do in or near water as she is also a mermaid). I could have done laps, she could have ran circles and laps around me as I stumbled to catch my breath but no, we just enjoyed the water, enjoyed the quiet, forgot that we were in the middle of our little town with responsibilities waiting for us. Just the perfect way to start the day, and of course, as soon as I sat down, it got me thinking...while rest days are important, do they mean you have to sit on your butt and do nothing alone or is it more effective to rest and stretch your body and soul with someone else? There is no wrong answer here.
For me, the answer is easy - I love people, even when I don't like people I love people - and I love my family. Spending that hour in the pool with my Mom was exactly what this rest day needed. It quite literally rested me, (maybe not my muscles at I did get a little over excited about the stretching in water so I am a little sore, moving on). My challenge for you is to find what you need to rest on your day of rest - and figure out if you want to do it alone or with someone(s) else. Is it sitting with a book or watching TV? Is it cooking or baking? Is it going for a walk? Is it swimming? Is it yoga? What is it? As is the case in all things in life, what is right for one person may not be right for you, and - this is the important part - that is okay! Don't forget that while you see all the crazy, all the movement in the world, days of rest are just as important and only you can determine what that means for you.
Enjoy your next day of rest my friends, I certainly will after starting it in water with my Mom.
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