Top 10 Ways I Keep Myself Relatively Sane & Happy
As a nation, we are overworked, completely stressed out and simply...unhappy. This is how I am fighting back:
1. I don't clean. Of course there are the dishes and laundry to upkeep (I am not an animal), but my house generally looks like an organized disaster. I couldn't care less about my dirty floors if I get an extra hour of carefree time with my family instead.
2. I don't cook. Well — I cook once a week. On Sunday, I send my better 2/3s to the park for three hours, blast inappropriate-for-my-age music and cook for the entire week. It's therapeutic ... and all I have to do for the rest of the week is pour a glass of wine with my warmed-up dinner.
3. I have a standing date with one of my friends. Once a week, I spend a carefree evening drinking wine and gossiping with my friend Lisa. We've being doing this for years and somehow we still manage to talk for hours on that one night.
4. Once in a while I call in sick just to stay home with my husband while our girl is in daycare. We have a huge breakfast, go to the movies or simply stay in bed. After my boss reads this, I might have whole bunch of those days coming up, also known as "unemployment".
4 1/2. To immediately cover myself, I love my job and the people I work with — it's a very important aspect of my sanity. Everytime I get stressed out, I remind myself that I get paid to be around very cool people who do very cool things for a living.
5. When my daughter wakes up around 8am on the weekends, we put in a "Sesame Street" DVD on repeat, give her some snacks with milk and go back to bed for another blissful hour.
6. I buy a lottery ticket a couple of times a week. Just one at a time. The pleasure I get from day dreaming about winning all those millions and moving to Tuscany with my family is well worth $1.
7. I listen to my I-Pod. Subway, close my eyes, music... It is simply my #1 drug.
8. I pray. I do. Every day. Mostly, just to say "thank you."
9. I eat my dinner AFTER my daughter goes to bed. Yes, it's late by American standards, but the anticipation of adult conversation, slow chewing and wine sipping makes the kiddie bedtime routine that much stricter and more organized. P.S. Extra points if you serve your dinner on the fancy plates.
10. I get on all fours and chase my girl around the house every chance I get. Something about her squeaking and non-stop laughing makes me forget about work, the recession and that dirty bathroom.
Author: Ilona Siller
