No-ing your Boundaries

Recently, my husband and I were enjoying a cup of coffee together. Yes, we each had our own coffee mugs. This was not like the scene from Lady and The Tramp where we are sharing a spaghetti noodle or slurping coffee through a communal straw.

Ron mentioned noticing a change in me that has blossomed over the past few weeks. He liked this New and Improved Karen. What had prompted the change?

Was I…

• Getting more sleep?
• Eating better?
• Drinking more water?

Before his curiosity turned the corner to questioning more nefarious catalysts into my beauty makeover, I considered the past couple of weeks.

Note: If this was a movie or tv sitcom, at this juncture, you’d see a “scene dissolve” indicating that the show was transitioning to a flashback. By inserting the above repeated heart-shapes, this alerts readers that I’m either about to launch into an ADHD episode or provide a backstory.

The Backstory

Two weeks ago, my team and I were preparing for a couple of back-to-back meetings that required in-depth analysis of operating results for several entities. We worked early, late, weekends to finalize deliverables in the short turnaround time. At 5:30am the morning of the first meeting, I was feeling slightly nauseous, but chalked it up to sleep deprivation and guzzling coffee on an empty stomach. I emailed the agenda and some KPI details, and beamed at how prepared we all were. I hopped in my car and headed to the office. About 7 miles into my commute, I had to pull over and wretch beside the road. I felt bad for what those other Monday-Morning-Commuters witnessed alongside Rt 83. Not pretty.

I clover-leafed homeward, parked my car, texted the team, and went straight to bed. I think I took my shoes off prior to pulling the comforter up to my chin and rolling into a fetal position.

For the next 24 hours, I alternated between shivering and being soaked in sweat. I was exhausted, but my pounding head and achy body prevented me from sleeping until I downed a couple Nyquil capsules.

My covid test results were negative. Yay!

And here’s my character arc

When I started to feel better, rather than going to my work computer in my discretionary time, I did a “refresh” on the things that are important to me and my family. I established writing & reading routines and binge-watched Project Runway on Peacock. Ron & I sipped limoncello’s on the front porch. I planned playdates with my niece’s 4-year-old. The cathartic writing of thank you cards and putting dinner dates with girlfriends on my calendar elevated my mood. In addition to walks & runs, I visited museums and art galleries. Being uncharacteristically spontaneous, I hopped in the car and did an overnight trip to NYC.

I started to resemble my “old self” by being more in the moment – relaxed, laughing more, and setting better work-life boundaries.

I stopped canceling personal plans to accommodate others’ plans.

My husband found me more attractive due to my shedding my stressed persona at the door. Envisioning myself emerging from a chrysalis, my mantra became: once you molt, bolt.

Now here’s your chance to self-reflect

Do you set aside time to be creative or do the things that you love to do? Would you be able to rapidly fire off a list of 10 things that you love to do? If so, have you done m/any in the last week, month, or year?

If I want to recharge my creative flow, I need to re-engage my playful fun-loving self. Sometimes it takes a fieldtrip to step away from my well-ordered routine, like a walk on the NCR trail or a stroll through a local museum or gallery. One of my favorite inspirations to jumpstart my creativity is by spending time surrounded by beauty, and The Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art are perfect elixirs to restore my inner beauty.