this morning, when the alarm clock went off, i wasn't the one that had to get out of bed. i almost laughed out loud at the thought - me, on a wednesday, languishing in bed until nine, while my husband, the one with the 'cool job' actually has to be somewhere this morning. it was a beautiful role reversal: still in my fuzzy black pants and tank top, i got him some coffee in a to-go mug, helped him out the door, and now am sitting on the couch with my own, real ceramic stay-at-home mug, while i read relevantmagazine and watch my cup steam over. i will write, i will run, and i will make a mix cd for my little sister. THOSE are my plans for the day. killer.

i've always had to fight my inner driven tendencies to give myself some down time, but i've always at least done that - i've always made the time, even if getting there stresses me out. i recently stumbled over some particularly interesting journal words of mine from a few christmases ago. at the time, i was rambling on about how exasperated i was that a planned few days of solitude had been ruined by dave's car breaking down, leaving him stranded in philly with me over a short break from classes. i'd been planning on a few days to recharge from the endless deadlines....and then i realized that i haven't even thought of making time for myself since...when? i can't even remember.

weddings take a ton of time/energy/planning, and in the wake of mine, applying for residency had to be put off, and studying was on the back burner, and boards would just have to be thought about later. we flew in from punta cana after our honeymoon and i hit the ground running. i don't think i've stopped ever since. now, though, having finally taken my boards last week, having all the residency applications in the mail, i look up and realize that this would be a great time to take a break.

and then God, in his goodness, gave the resident in charge of me a great idea: he sent me home. by 11am yesterday i was off work, told i didn't really need to show up again until thursday. and thus, here i am, sitting in the morning light without a thing in the world pressing enough to keep me from drinking some home-brewed coffee and going for a fall morning jog. there is nothing better in the world than a day like today. and tomorrow morning, when the bell rings for me, i will have faith that God will bring me more days like today again soon.