Oops, missed a day

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

It was my intention to write on this blog each and every day but yesterday life caught up with me. I thought about this blog last night just before I fell asleep, but seeing as how it was already after midnight and I couldn't get a post dated 1/8/08, I saw no reason to leave a warm bed.

Be warned, life may catch up with me more frequently in a couple of weeks when classes start. I'm carrying four classes (12 hours) this semester, and hope to have a job soon as well, so I plan to be very busy. What a relief! The long holiday break has almost been more leisure than I could stand.

My best friend has had similar problems dealing with leisure time. After many months of working way too many hours, she had time off with her kids over the holidays. We both have had trouble gearing down, as if we've been in overdrive for so long that we've forgotten how to relax. Personally I've found this period of down-time to be as stressful as being overscheduled, because at least when I'm overscheduled I get a whole lot done and have a feeling of accomplishment. (As opposed to one day a couple of weeks ago, when running the vacuum was the major accomplishment of my day.)

This all makes me wonder - are we as a nation addicted to stress to the point that we don't know how to relax? For a very long time I've speculated that more kids are being diagnosed with ADHD because parents keep them busy and stimulated every waking moment and as a result these kids never learn to handle downtime. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it's possible for adults to develop an aqcuired form of ADHD from too much chronic stress and constant activity. I love to read and watch movies, and I have had trouble doing either because I just couldn't sit still and couldn't focus - I had to be doing something all the time. Does that sound like ADHD? Okay, I will admit that part of the problem with watching movies was if I wasn't doing something at the same time (sewing, Sudoku, etc.) I'd fall asleep. That never used to happen either.

When I was in elementary school I remember learning about the Protestant work ethic, which drives a large chunk of American culture. In essense the Protestant work ethic says the harder you work and the more you save, the bigger your place in heaven will be. This is one factor that has driven the US to new heights of productivity and stress-related illnesses. I was floored when I found out how paltry our vacation allotments are here in the US compared with Europe. There is an interesting discussion of time off and other benefits in various European countries included in the Michael Moore film "Sicko". If you haven't seen it then by all means do so at your earliest opportunity. I'm sure other points from the film will work their way into later installments of this blog, but for now I'll just say this film doesn't just provide food for thought, it gives a whole buffet.

Later,
AuntieM