Take a Freakin' Picnic!

My daily routine goes something like this: wake up early, head to the gym, go to school, go to work, then go back to sleep. Boing, boring, boring. Every day, same times. It gets quite cumbersome and on my Sundays off, I try to let myself rest. Throughout the week, I think that when Sunday comes around, I am going to sleep in, eat good, and laze around the house, and at the time that sounds lovely.

This is usually how it goes, too. I have always enjoyed it, but it occurred to me last weekend: this is boring, too! This is my one, full day off and I am wasting it sitting at home, cocooned in the bed, binge watching The Office? That is a fun activity, don't get me wrong, but it was 70 degrees out and sunny! I needed to get outside.

I planned on just going for a hike with my boyfriend, but as I was in the kitchen, making us a few sandwiches, I thought, why eat them before we leave, when I can just throw them in a lunch-pouch and take it with us??

I don't know why this was such an epiphany to me. It wasn't the most complex idea in the world, but I hadn't gone on a picnic since I was a little kid.

We ended up not even going to the park we had planned on because we figured we were doing something different, so let's go somewhere different! We just drove off in a direction we never go, which I am so happy that we did. We found ourselves in a very small historic town. There were little shops everywhere, flowers, and very polite, happy people. It was absolutely wonderful.

We found an old staircase that led up to a garden. On our way up, there was an open place of grass off the path a good 50 feet and we set up.

Of course we brought a blanket and laid it out and we enjoyed our sandwiches, apples, and chips. It was a complete escape from our everyday lives. This trip was the most relaxing day off I have had in a long time. Being able to completely forget about work and school and not worrying about what time it was or if I needed to do chores around the house was perfect.

I have been blabbing for a few paragraphs now and I hope you understand how important it is to take a break from what you do everyday. Even if you enjoy what you do everyday, take breaks often to prevent yourself from getting worn down because that is what causes you to feel negatively about what you do. You need to get out there and take a picnic. Even if it's just a metaphorical picnic: going to the mall, meeting up with some old friends, reading a good book, or even taking a bubble bath with candles and wine. Anything to take you out of your routine.

I hope my ramble helps at least a few people out there. Just remember that any activity that lowers your stress level is completely worth it. Don't keep putting it off. If you want to go take a picnic, take a freakin' picnic!