The Shadow and the Shimmer

Holy hell, I'm exhausted. I'm tired and I want to be un-tired. What's caused me to feel this sleepy, frazzled and "overcooked" you ask? Too much vacation. Does that even make sense? Aren't vacations meant to be restful? Well, yes, they are. But this year's "vacation" was not spent lying on sandy beaches and playing Crazy 8's. This year's vacation was more like...family visitation. We had a week in Swizzy with my dad and stepmom, followed by a week in England with the entire English gang, and then came home to greet my Canadian mom and host her for two weeks. It's been lovely, it really has, but I'm goddamned tired now and am really looking forward to going back to regular, daily grind life. I just love my regular, non-over-the-top, boring-to-others' existence!!! I don't have FOMO, I don't feel like anything is missing. I don't care if my social life is now mostly centered around mommy tea dates an...

We live in a super fast-paced world. We are continuously exposed to a plethora of digitized information; be it on television, on the Internet, or on our smartphones. We are smack dab in the age of information and of disinformation. Our brains rarely get a pause to regroup and relax. On top of the near-constant "logged in" status, we, collectively as a society, glorify busyness. This turtle has his priorities in order! I don't think he's freaking out about making it to three different social events in the same night. He doesn't need a babysitter. He's heading home to chill out and watch Netflix with the littles. People are viewed as "achievers" and "responsible" when they juggle a full-time job, parenthood and social and leisurely activities. Not to mention those types who manage to do all of this while still dressing to the nines and looking polished and professional. While showing the world an image of cool, calm and coll...