Vacation month is over. What a gift it was! I feel calmer, happier, and stronger. My mind has new stuff in it. My skin has been outside. I have broken the habit of wearing a watch, which has helped me to hurry less.

Since Brent is away at Burning Man, I don’t have to jump into serious work quite yet. However, I get to figure out, in advance, a rough idea of what I’m going to be doing and when. I am in charge of my schedule, so I can make sure it keeps the healthy parts of what I’ve been doing over vacation. Another gift!

My first task, as usual, is cleaning. My vacation self isn’t so great at cleaning up after herself. My desk is rather buried. Notebooks, school papers, a crossword puzzle, several books on their way to the shelves, a bottle of Excedrin that I no longer want to carry with me in my purse, stuff like that. Not to mention the heaps of things on my side table. It was good to be messy, but it will also be good to be neat again.