Keeping the Sanity

Some days I crack a cold one after work and sit and enjoy my crisp, refreshing beverage as I let my mind wander. Some days I light some candles, lay flat on my back, close my eyes, and meditate. Some days I put on my running shoes and hit the pavement with my favorite workout playlist pumping through my headphones (the perfect mix of 90’s dance music, alternative rock, horrible pop songs, and angrified anthems). And then some days, I lay a tile floor or swing a hammer. Yep, Habitat for Humanity days are my “mental health days.”

This last Tuesday was a perfect example of why I need these days. I was working alongside Ruby, a volunteer from Naples, and Gloria, my supervisor. We were laying a tile floor (my favorite and unquestionably most relaxing job). As I work in my section of the kitchen measuring, cutting, and laying the tiles in a calming alternating pattern the radio plays in the background. Gloria, Ruby, and I joke with each other as we catch up on each other’s lives. Before you know it we are all three singing along to the radio as we work. Pearl Jam’s Last Kiss was the winner of the “which song do all three generations know the words to contest” this week. Thank goodness for Bob FM and their mix of music from the 60s through today.

Home improvement projects have always been an outlet for me. Whether it’s cleaning out the garage, building flowerbeds out of 4x4s, painting anything you can imagine, or refinishing furniture from my grandparents’ houses I find a peace in not just the finished product, but in the work itself. Just ask my family and they will tell you that Lowe’s is my favorite store. They have begun to refuse to take me there because they know that I will inevitably wander off and come up new projects that they will get suckered into helping me with. So for now, my sanity will just have to depend on my Habitat days and Lowe’s drive-bys with my sister. Yep, I’m not even allowed out of the car most times.

I am learning a lot this year. The skills I acquire by working at Habitat are invaluable and will prove to be useful as I one day hopefully own my own home. Even more so, finding that balance in my life and having an outlet for stress relief that is built into my work week is something that I am extremely grateful for. Everyone needs those days in life that make you smile and laugh and relieve a bit of stress. Better yet, we should find something each day that does that. Ask yourself, “What is my stress reliever?” and “What makes me smile?” Seek those things out daily.

Peace Out

Love,

Babs