HannaH Jane’s Day Off

A couple weeks ago, I did something that I hadn’t done in years. Seriously. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done it. I took a day off. When I say I took a day off, I don’t mean I took a day to go to medical appointments or clean some thing or run errands. No, I took a day, smack in the middle of the week, and I did whatever the heck I wanted to do.

I’ll freely admit to some blatant plagiarism in this post’s title. If you are anywhere near my age, you are acutely aware of this 100% rip off. Though honestly, I didn’t take teenage Ferris Bueller’s approach. I am, after all, an adult with adult responsibilities, and while I certainly could have done it the Ferris way, I didn’t really care to be dodging my boss all day. It’s way too much stress at this point in my life. So I did the adult thing, requested the day, and voilà…HannaH Jane has a day off, and before this post is done, I’m going to enthusiastically recommend it to you all.

With absolutely no obligations, I slept through multiple week day alarms and got up precisely when it pleased me. I fixed breakfast, did some reading and writing in my journal, and made absolutely no plans. I decided to simply let the day be the day and removed all responsibility from my shoulders. This occurrence to me was a rather foreign concept – a luxury not often afforded working adults or stay at home parents for that matter – but I had the opportunity. So seriously why not give it a try?

I said “bye” to Mike (He had to go out of town for work), I meditated, made lunch. It was spaghetti tossed in a fancy cheese sauce (I had some left over Gruyère and Swiss) with Rosemary and Asparagus. It didn’t take long to fix, but I took the time to do something different.

After lunch seemed a good time to take Korra for a walk, so I went to change and found a lizard friend in our bedroom. In typical HannaH fashion, I attempted to capture and relocate, but he seemed quite unwilling to move out even though he now had us as roommates. Capture being unsuccessful, I left him alone.

Korra and I went for our walk across the new farm, through the fields and down to the creek. We cleaned some flood debris off the fence line that was deposited when Reedy Creek became Reedy Cove out in our little walnut grove a week prior when the tornadoes blew through. The walk being successful, Korra got thoroughly filthy, tired, and happy. I got all but the filthy. (I don’t care as much for the galloping through mud puddles as she does.)

I swept the carport when we got back. A totally mundane task until I realized that the goji berry cuttings I had taken off my shrubs at our old house had actually rooted, despite the less than ideal conditions in which I took them. Little green leaves popping out all over the place – I was ecstatic. Come to think of it, I still am.

I cleaned the puppy, packed up my bags, and went to my new favorite spot in my new town – Sun Flour Baking Co. in Harrisburg. I got coffee and a scone and sat in the window watching people go by and writing in my journal. About this time, I decided that my dad really needed to have a day off too, so en route to the grocery, I called him and explained why he should really take the following day for himself and told him I’d handle everything. (He didn’t do it, but I tried).

Before I made it to the grocery, I spotted a used book store and took another detour. I mean after all, I could and just seeing what happened was the theme of the day. I spent about half an hour and all the cash I had gotten from the jury service I did back in January (Now, I actually feel compensated…it’s amazing how much twelve bucks will get you at a used bookstore). Back home with groceries and way more books than I’d left with, I shelved the new-old books, fed the barn kitties, potted some flowers, practiced some Thai (the language – not Muay Thai…I actually skipped Muay Thai that night), made dinner (some leftover Chicken Tikka Masala), drew some animals (it had been forever since I sketched anything), did yoga, showered, and flopped.

It was simple. It was sublime. It was perfect.

It was what happens when Ferris Bueller grows up.

Like most adults, my days are packed, scheduled. I move from one task to the next at appointed times. Of course, without that schedule the stuff won’t get done, and let’s be honest most of that stuff is important. Schedules and agendas keep society functioning. No matter how we complain, we really do prefer that every one keep eating and remaining healthy rather than starving and wallowing in filth. However, I did learn something rather important over the course of this low-key adventure – every once in a while, you need a day off. You need to reset and recharge with no requirements, and believe it or not, your productivity will be all the better for it. (I totally rocked the next work day.)

Ferris taught me this when I was a kid. But somehow over the course of getting all of the things done, I’d forgotten how important that day off really is. No, I didn’t nurture a budding romance, swipe a Ferrari, or perform on a float in a parade. Adult HannaH is beyond the thrill of narrow escape. It doesn’t do it for me anymore, but the restoring power of the day can’t be denied. No rules, no requirements – even just for a day. I’ll try not to forget this time, Ferris.