Taking It Slow

When life gets too busy, I get stressed. Really stressed. Just ask my husband. He can tell you about my many breakdowns that are brought on by the stress of busyness. Most of the time they're contained to our home, but I've been known to breakdown in the checkout lane of a grocery store. I can go full speed for a really long time, but once I hit the wall, I hit it hard and everyone around me feels the tremors.

I don't have any work trips on the horizon, so this summer I am going to be very intentional about taking it slow. I want to live out my daydreams of lazy summer days drinking lemonade on the front porch. For a little extra motivation in slowing down, I'm going to participate in a virtual book club with Anne Jackson. She is taking her readers through the book In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.

Anne gives a great summary of what the book is about on her blog. I'm really looking forward to reading it. My copy should arrive on Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll be mentioning it several more times as I read through it.

Todd and I decided to get started on slowing down this weekend. Yesterday was just what we needed - a warm, sunny day that included a leisurely stroll around the Franklin Farmer's Market, a cozy lunch at Zoe's Kitchen followed by a long nap in the afternoon. For dinner Todd fired up the grill and made some amazing orange glazed shrimp with asparagus and I whipped up some incredibly refreshing watermelon margaritas.

We threw together some homemade guacamole too.

The benefits of slowing down are too numerous to count. Culture tells us that we need to be constantly on the go. Our bodies typically tell us otherwise.

As for me, I want to live a simpler, healthier, happier, slower life.

Can I get an amen?!