After a holiday season of illness, I’m finally on the road to recovery.
I’m finally back in action after being sick for a month with whatever respiratory virus is going around the North Country. Haven’t been this sick for this long ever.
As a person constantly feeling the need to be “doing something,” this month of ill health was very difficult. I spent the first two weeks of sickness pretending I could go on as if nothing was wrong. Though, my brain was all foggy and no way could I write, record, or even brainstorm anything of quality. Finally, on week three I forced myself to lay around in hopes of speeding up the recovery. I am a week delayed in my return to normalcy endeavor, but finally capable of functioning at about 80%.
Being sick did have a silver lining—it forced me to rethink some things about how I spend my time when I’m running at full capacity. So here are a few observations I had that may be helpful if you’re anything like me who thinks the world revolves around always doing.
It turns out my house does not need to be cleaned every day and that having a few things out of place will not end the world. I simply did not have the energy to upkeep our home at the same level as I aspire to when I’m well. That being said, it stayed decently in order, and I now wonder how much time I waste cleaning and organizing that I could reallocate elsewhere.
Nobody really noticed my absence—both personally and professionally. Sure, I had some clients who reached our before I could get them on calendar for a review, and I have a couple things I need to get out this week before anything seems delayed. But generally, I envisioned (or maybe fantasized) that my absence would strike fear into the hearts of my clients and colleagues. (Note, I also have staff who handle things when I am absent, so that certainly helps!)
Personally, it was also the case that my lack of visibility was not met with alarm. Generally, I’m out and about in our village on a weekly basis whether just visiting with my local shop-owner friends, having wine Wednesday with neighbors, or working on local community items, but somehow the village functioned without me!
My social media presence was entirely paused and yet, the world kept turning. This last year I’ve worked pretty diligently on creating videos, writing, and generally being more visible. I had no idea how difficult building online was (and now have a massive respect for those who have come before), but I also did not realize how much creating and posting dictated my stress levels until I could not create and post for a few weeks.
In some ways, it was fortunate I was this sick and missing during the holidays—much of my business life is naturally slowed during this season and many people travel during the holidays making all our routines out of sorts. But these general observations altered my goals for 2024. This year, I want to focus on doing less but of the less I do, put my entire soul into it. I was reminded how it’s so easy to fill our day with tasks and routines that ultimately serve no meaningful purpose other than the make us feel productive.
So with that, here are some photos of our holidays. Unfortunately, there were not a lot to choose from—as I did not manage to take a lot of photos from the couch or bed!
We finally did get some snow!