ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

"My get up and go, got up and went!"
~ Unknown

Okay, I admit it. I'm plum tuckered out! I don't know how or why, I just know that my caboose is worn out and I can't get it going.

Have you ever been what my mother use to call "bone weary"? I'm not just talking sleepy, I mean where you feel exhaustion way down deep in your marrow? Well, that's me and I don't know why. Perhaps it's the push to have everything ready for the beginning of school or the push to charge ahead with housework and cover a lot of lost ground. Whatever it is, I am plum pooped!

"Fatigue makes the best pillow."
~ Benjamin Franklin

Yup! It also wastes a perfectly good day.

So, I engage in several activities that help me get through a fatigue dampened day...I will share a few of these with you...

Listen to energetic music...As some of you already know, I love fiddle music and nothing picks me up better than a heel kickin', joyous round of fiddle music, but I realize not everyone has the same tastes. So, put on music that makes you feel joyous - pop music, choir music, gospel, whatever. Put it on and CRANK IT UP!!

Peppermint is very stimulating...Aromatherapy says that peppermint lifts the spirits. I do find that a little bit on the temples is very invigorating. (Don't EVER get this stuff in your eyes or you will be bawling for a long time. Whoowee! I did this once by accident)

Engage in aerobic activity...Look, I fully realize that when one is tired the LAST thing one wants is to be moving around a whole lot. HOWEVER, I have found that getting the legs moving can get the heart moving and bring on a period of higher energy.

Upper body weight training...Don't ask me why, but this works even more for me than aerobic activity. It's not fun to begin when all you feel like doing is laying down and taking a nap, but it can get the old heart pumping and make you feel better.

Lie down and take a nap! Okay, when all else fails, turn off the phone and catch some zzzzzzzz's. I don't know that this is particularly invigorating, but it does keep me from killing people if I have to drive anywhere on a day I'm falling over with exhaustion. Just sleep. Okay, we are all conscientious people. We feel we should be working and not losing time by drifting off to dreamland, but that is what couches are for, folks. They are for naps.

Be gentle with yourself. Okay, I'm not one to let myself off the hook for everything, but once in awhile, I just have to slow down and that's the way it is. I tell myself that I am better for my family if I don't try to KILL MYSELF with activity when I am not up to it. So, I am nice to myself and, if I can, I take breaks and do whatever I have to in order to feel better.

Okay, now it's your turn! What do you do for a pick me up when you are ready to fall down? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Otherwise, have a lovely and energetic day!
Elizabeth