Gee it’s great to have a break sometimes.

I was ready for it. And do you know how I knew I was ready for it? I just had to look through the history of my recent blog posts. What did I see? Complain, complain, complain, complain, complain.

I like to think I’m not by nature a complainer. I like to think that I’m the sort of person who generally looks on the positive side of things, and sees possibilities rather than negativities. Sure, we all have our bad days. There are times when things can be overwhelming, and it can be hard to look on the bright side. But I hope that for me those days are the exception rather than the rule.

The other thing that really struck me was the nature of the things I was complaining about. Talk about first world problems. Talk about sweating on the small stuff. I’ve seriously been letting the little things get me down, far too often.

I really don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be the person who’s grumping and grumbling about the tiniest little thing. I don’t want to be seen as a whinger and a pain in the arse. I want to be the positive guy, the one who’s an inspiration to everyone else. I want to be the person raising the mood, not lowering it. And when I start to notice that I’m not that person, that’s when I know it’s time for a break.

And so I got one.

We didn’t go far. Just to a hotel in the city for a night. This might surprise some people. After all, going into a big city hardly sounds like getting away from it all. But that kind of misses the point. No worries about cleaning and household chores. No worries about looking after kids. For a couple of days, we were completely looked after. We could take a walk along the river and check out the art gallery. We could enjoy delicious food we didn’t have to cook ourselves and we didn’t have to clean up afterwards.

It all flew by. It was over far too soon. And now here I am, back in the reality of work and family and chores. Still, taking even a couple of days to unwind has made a difference. I still find myself smiling and feeling more relaxed. I’ve even managed to get a substantial amount of writing done.

Let’s see how long it all lasts.

Riptides in Reality

Hey, did you know that you can still grab a copy of Riptides in Reality. Nine great scifi/fantasy novels at a special bargain price. Grab a copy from Amazon now.