Saturday Smiles: The Whole Week.

View from the Gym.

This week I've been away from my family working at the Auto Show for Subaru.  I have to say the days are long and my body is tired, but it's been the exact thing I've been needing.  It's given me a chance to be Joanna, not 'Mama' consistently for a few days straight and, even though the work is hard, it's so wonderful to have that freedom to not be 'Mama' for a while.  It's mentally refreshing.  Adding to this great refresh is the knowledge that I'm making a wonderful income and that for a while at least I'm definitely the main bread winner and the one supporting my family.  Yes, I have missed my baby, and I'm missing her so much I'm watching videos of her on my computer just to her great personality.  I really needed this break and recharge from being 'mama.' 

I've also got a chance to go out with my co-workers in the evening and get a bit silly, and to be honest this is so much fun and it's so freeing to be able to do that. 

But I also realized just how much I need me time and quiet time.  Between working and talking to people all day and sharing a hotel room, I'm not getting any solo time. So one night, after going out, I went by myself to the one place I knew would be totally deserted late at night - the hotel gym.  I just sat there in that darkened room looking out the window and got to be alone with my thoughts with no one around.  I got to sit in my mind and just be in the stillness of a room that had been devoid of people for hours.  There was a pure peacefulness about it.  And that ten minutes of sitting there was the exact thing I was needing.  It was a zen moment of peace, stillness and reflection. 

This whole week I'm smiling.