Chit Chat: Being Social

I just had a great weekend. It was jammed packed from the moment I left work Friday evening until I got in bed last night. Jessica and I headed out of town for the weekend. We stayed at an amazing hotel, ate delicious meals (including a few too many desserts), caught up with some wonderful friends, and did way too much shopping. On Saturday we saw the touring Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. Jessica had seen it during a trip to New York years ago but I hadn't. It was wonderful. On Sunday we attended, Don Giovanni, our first opera. It was performed at the Kentucky Opera House which is one of my favorite places in Lexington. We were both unsure what to expect when going into the opera but we both agree that it left us amazed.

I had so much fun this weekend it made me realize how important being social is for our well being and that maintaining friendships is a good investment for our health. All of us have such crazy, hectic lives that being social gets pushed pretty far down on our to-do lists. I know it does for me. In fact, since ringing in the new year I have spent most of my weekends with no fun plans included. It wasn't that I set out with a goal of being antisocial or that I spent these weekends sitting at home doing nothing. Very much the opposite.

My work weeks have never been busier. Lately, I have been viewing weekends solely as a time to catch up on much needed sleep, get work finished that I didn't quite get to during the week, schedule a few blog posts, and do the never ending lists of errands we all have. After that there was no time for being social or penciling in extra activities for fun. After this weekend it is apparent how horribly wrong I have been spending my time.

Having a break and doing something fun is without question really good for us. We can afford to give ourselves a little time off to enjoy life. All of the important things will still get finished and if they don't they likely were not very important to begin with. Something else I realized this weekend is that being around friends and family, trying something new, and taking part in activities we enjoy is great for reducing stress (something I always struggle with see here) by taking our minds off of whatever is stressing us out.

I am headed into this week rejuvenated and ready to tackle whatever might head my way. How was your weekend?

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