It's Not Lazy

Recreation is sometimes the hardest work to do

Dear Friends,

Rama was out of town last weekend, and I had plenty of time to myself. There was a long list of chores that I could have done, but after checking a couple off the list I decided to ignore the rest. I leaned hard into relaxation. I lounged in bed, watching TV, window shopping for Korean sunscreen, and doodling in my sketchbook. It was glorious.

I didn’t always know how to relax. When I used to worked freelance, I felt like I had to keep busy all. the. time. Lunch breaks, evenings, weekends—it was all a chance to be productive. The problem was I didn’t know when to take a break, and I didn’t know why it mattered.

Then Rama taught me the magic of Recreation.

Recreation, he explained, breaks down to “re + creation.” To create, again.

Something wonderful happens when you give yourself the time and space to rest. You make room for curiosity, ease, and inspiration. Your mind wanders. It stumbles on ideas. Your body unwinds. It bounces back with energy.

I now accept rest and recreation as part of the work, and after many years of practice, I’m becoming quite the pro.

This weekend, I’m starting my spring break with my family. We’ve got some fun things planned, and we’ve got some chores to do too, but I’ve made sure to leave some time for a whole lot of nothing.

I hope you make some time for nothing, too. You might even find that it leads to something good.

xo Christine

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Good Things

• Spring break, all I ever wanted

• Bloomscrolling, the opposite of doomscrolling

• The Residence on Netflix (Also, Maira Kalman illustrated the opening titles!)

• Physical therapy pays off

• Trying on glasses, just for fun

• Planning a vegetable garden

• Dancing in the kitchen

• Berry ricotta dessert pizza is the dessert I never knew I wanted

• Refilling the pepper grinder to the brim

• Modjeskas from Louisville

Good Find

At the risk of sounding sooo old, might I recommend Floura fiber bars brought to us by ice cream genius, Jeni Britton? If you are trying to up your fiber intake like I am (if you know, you know) Floura does the trick, with delicious flavors to boot. Plus, I’m a sucker for the pretty packaging.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Give yourself a pat on the back. Celebrate an accomplishment, even the tiniest one. You got out of bed today! You drank water! You reached the end of this newsletter!