After a few hours of working yesterday – managing my inboxes, social media, checking sales/rankings, etc – I was suddenly hit with this feeling of utter rawness, of overexposure. Nothing bad had happened (the complete opposite, in fact) but apparently I just exist close to that edge with the constant headache/state of the world, etc.

It was an acute enough overwhelm that I had to sit down on my pilates machine and just breathe. When that didn’t alleviate the feeling, I put on my runners, snagged Michael, and walked down to the mailbox. On our way back to the house, we discussed me taking a few days (mostly) off – writing if I felt like it, but letting my inbox, etc, slide – and then, come Monday, implementing a new schedule that prioritizes the writing of new words and limits my inbox/notifications running me quite so thoroughly.

So, of course, when I actually set my phone aside – physically across the room, and muted as always – Michael got stuck on the roof of the cabin addition.

Yep.

Hooked into his harness on the steep pitch of the garage. Can’t reach the ladder. Completely stuck.

He texted.

He called.

He yelled.

I was listening to an audiobook while knitting. ‘Unplugged’.

Michael had to flag down the neighbour to help him (Thank you, Jim!) even though I was hanging out less than the length of the house away. Ironically, I heard them talking, but not what was being said.

So … turning off notifications but keeping my phone nearby might help today’s ‘day off’ run a little smoother.