Mental Health Monday: The Day of Rest

Hey all, sorry for the late post. I had a bit of a sluggish start today. You know how it is sometimes. It’s hard to get going. I don’t feel like I have a lot of gas in the tank today, so I’m taking it pretty easy.

As much as I love cooking and writing and writing about cooking, it’s important to balance. Take rest when you need it. I’m certainly in no danger of burning out, what with being at home all the time, but there’s no need to push. It’s okay to take a night off now and again, to order takeout. It’s okay to not write a post, especially if I feel there’s nothing pertinent to write about. I want to give you guys quality, not just quantity.

Some days I’ll clean the house, cook three meals and do some extra food prep like pickling or making bread, take care of the bunnies and write a blog post, but I’ll still feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. Other days just the act of rolling out of bed feels like I’ve hit my quota for activities completed. It all depends, and when we’re stuck inside like this, it’s important to be cognizant of what your mind and body are telling you.

There should be no pressure on you to come out of this any different than you were when we went in. If you don’t learn a new skill, if your house is still a mess, if you didn’t bake a single loaf of Instagram-worthy sourdough – well, that’s all okay. If you gained a few pounds or drank a bit too much, that’s okay too. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Once it’s safe to do so, we can all get back to the gym, and whatever else and take back our lives one day at a time.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to learn and create and grow during this time, that’s amazing. More power to you. All I’m saying is that if you don’t want to do any of that, that’s okay. We all need to take care of ourselves in different ways. What works for some won’t work for all.

So, rest if you need to. Take the day off if that’ll help. Watch a movie, play video games, whatever will help you reset your mind. You deserve it, these aren’t normal times. It’s more important to come through this mentally sound then to come through having learnt Latin and able to braid a perfect challah. I’m signing off early, to do just that. To relax, that is, not make challah. Maybe tomorrow.