Yes, it’s Okay to Take a Break!

And yes, I’m writing this for myself as much as for everybody else 😉 Because this is something I struggle with all the time! No matter how long I’ve been doing this, no matter how many of my fellow bloggers point it out, I still can’t seem to get it in my head. Which is why- *deep breaths*- I’m going to be reiterating what so many have said before me: IT’S OKAY TO TAKE A BREAK!

*Phew*- that’s hard to write! Far easier to just pack in all the excuses and beg for forgiveness! I know that when I’ve got to take time off, I end up grovelling and apologising and feeling tremendously guilty. And for what? For having other things going on, for having various stresses, for experiencing exhaustion… none of which are crimes punishable by death- I’ve checked 😉 Point is, we all have legitimate reasons for taking breaks- and that’s OKAY!

Recently, I saw Drew talking about just not feeling like reading, and it was such a relief to hear someone else say it! Because *of course* there are days when I don’t feel like reading- everyone has those! Not only when you’re feeling slumpy- sometimes my brain feels fried and I can’t keep my eyes open. And you know what? That’s OKAY!

Even more importantly, Eustea reminded me that this is a hobby and how there’s no need to be so hard on ourselves. We should be giving ourselves a pat on the back- not beating ourselves up for not “staying on top of things” (which, ha, if you’ve been doing this long enough, you know how impossible that is to do, since there’s always more to be done!) If we’re tired out or burnt out or just out-out, then we made need a little time off. And that’s OKAY!

Instead of feeling bad, let’s give ourselves a *round of applause* and *take a bow* (in that order 😉). We’re all great apes and we’re all in this together like a bunch of bananas… which sounded better in my head, but you get the idea 😉 I won’t tell people not to make excuses- goodness knows I wouldn’t be able to promise that myself! And I won’t be sorry for being sorry- I’m British, I’ve apologised to chairs for bumping into them 😉 YET I will say for the umpteenth time that we can give ourselves the night off whenever we need to and for whatever reason. The world won’t end. It’s OKAY.

 Cheers to that and to all of you!