Tuesday, April 14, 2009

What a home-maker!

I am now officially on one of my tri-annual two week holidays. Starting today, I have almost two weeks completely at my disposal, and boy does it feel fantastic!

I don't want to brag, but I really really enjoy having all this time to myself. I used to feel slightly guilty about it and I guess this is because of the reaction I get from most people when they hear about how many weeks of hoildays teachers get. I used to feel as though I had to justify my 'non-contact time'. Now, however, I just kick back and enjoy it.

And how does one enjoy twelve weeks of holiday? I hear you ask.

My time is taken up by all sorts of things. Often, I'll use the holidays as a chance to visit my whanau in Christchurch. This is a regular thing for me, and I usually visit them three or four times a year, usually for five days at a time (don't ask me why, but this has worked out to be the perfect amount of time - Mum and Dad are just getting to the point where they're sick of me and I take off.) Sometimes, my holidays are used to catch up with old friends I haven't had a chance to see throughout the busy term. There really is nothing better than having the morning to sit in a cafe and share gossip over coffee. Uusally, there are a few odd jobs to do around the house and garden - or I create jobs for myself, such as this morning when I decided to make Quince Jelly or decide to redecorate my office - now that's going to be a big job!

The rest of the time is 'me' time. I use this time effectively to refresh my mind and get all that stuff out of the way that I haven't had time for during the term. Reading, playing Piano, writing, completing mosaics and ugly dolls, watching chick flicks while lying in bed with a steaming hot cup of tea, listening to audio books, just generally enjoying time alone.

I think I may have discovered the perfect work/life balance for me, and I love it.

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