Today was a beautiful day--temperature in the 60's, sun shining, birds singing. I spent the morning catching up with my newspapers and emails and decided to take Rosie for a walk around the park in the afternoon. Instead of our usual two miles and then home, I brought a book and sat in the park with Rosie and read for awhile. Then we did another mile. And, to top off a truly pleasant day, we went for a TCBY White Chocolate Mousse Frozen Yogurt after that.
Yet, all of this pleasure feels a bit self-indulgent. With all that enjoyment of the day, why can't I shut out the little voices that say things like, "You've got housework (taxes) to work on--what are you doing wasting your time like this?" or "How many calories in frozen yogurt?" As I've gotten older, I have found myself fighting harder against these workaholic tendencies. More and more, I feel like the moment is all we have and we should savor it. Still, the responsible one keeps popping up to remind me not to get too carried away. One of my thoughts lately has been that I need to incorporate some retirement into my life now, since it is questionable whether I'll be able to retire at a young enough age to enjoy it. I have lived my life as the responsible one and now I'm ready to relax some of that responsibility (even if I have to argue with myself to do it!).
