Mental Health Day

On Wednesday I decided that if it was going to be 75+ degrees in NYC on Thursday, in March no less, and that it was going to get chilly and rainy over the weekend, that I needed a day in the sun with the dog. This pic would be me and said dog, my 12 year old (he'll be 13 in May) Border Collie/Black Lab mix dog, Keziah. ---For those who have read The Betrayal...in case you're curious, who came first, Phoenix Keziah or my dog...Phoenix did, actually. Yes, I started that damn book THAT long ago.---

Anyhoo...moving on... :)

I asked my boss for a day to help Lauren with headshots and was granted a mental health day. So, yesterday was a taste of what my life would be like, if I was a writer and could use my days as I wished.

Was up at 8:45am and was down in the West Village by 11am to meet up with Photographer, Alexis Daria, and my best gal pal, Lauren Steinmeyer, to do some headshots of Lauren seeing as she's graduating from New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in May and needs good pics that look like her.

By 2pm I headed home (though they were still doing a few more shots) because, to be honest, I'd originally taken the day off to...well...to take my dog to the park. This may sound strange but...its bloody March people...and almost 80 degrees! My old man of a dog deserved to see it too! And, seeing as they're calling for overcast skies with showers and cool temps ALL DAMN WEEKEND...I decided to snag the nicest day of the week and go sit in the sun with the dog.

See how happy he is?














Cause folks, it was THIS pretty out!
Do you know what building this is in the West Vil?)














We brought a blanket and treats...here he is beggin' for one...paw up. How am I supposed to say no to this?

And here's what I found out by taking a random day off to sit in the sun...

I'M A SMART GIRL!

I felt so great today, even toting all my crap to work and working on spreadsheets today hasn't ruined my mood. I need to take a "mental health day" more often. I think maybe, now that its warm, I should do this once every other month. I have to use a vacation day for it, and I'd prefer I did it on a Friday, but man...the difference I felt after getting some sun and fresh air with my friends and then the dog? CRAZY HUGE DIFFERENCE! I felt amazing...wired like I'd downed a JOLT COLA (You do remember that soda, right? Ha!) on the way to work.

So...if you have time available to you to use...I recommend you find a way to skip a day every now and again. You won't be sorry you did. Even if its in the middle of the week. Everyone needs to rejuvinate their body.

We New Yorkers tend to go go go...all time. Even on weekends. We need to pause every now and again. I hope now that its warm I'll get to do this more often.

Have a great weekend all! I know in NYC we'll be dropping back to the mid 50's and dealing with rain...so in the midst of running around town or starting that spring cleaning...find a few hours to hang with your pet or lay in bed reading...it may not be the sun at the park...but you deserve a few moments to relax and enjoy hanging out with a pet or a friend, seeing a movie, or just reading a book.

Remember...if you own an E-reader...you can visit the Independant Author Network for some great books to consider (if you are going to stay in and read)...or you can just get mine...ha ha!

Whatever you do, enjoy the weekend, and find time to yourself as soon as you can. I'm so happy I did.

xo

Tamsin :)

And stay tuned...I'll have pics that Alexis took of Lauren for you to see soon! :)