I've been feeling a wee bit stressed at work this week. And last week. And probably part of next week.
I don't love feeling stressed. It makes me sleepy and maybe a bit grumpy. Not things I like to feel multiple days in a row.
But yesterday - Friday, the day I've been waiting 2 weeks for - finally came and went, and after about a year of waiting for the workday to end, 6pm came around and I bolted.
All day I planned out how I'd leave work, jump into my snugglies, eat a quick dinner while bundled up in bed, watching some shows or maybe a movie on my computer, before drifting seamlessly off to sleep for 10 hours. It seemed the perfect plan.
Did I mention it's been rainy and dreary all week? I'm more and more amazed at how affected I get by the weather. I need some sunshine!!!!
Anyway.
As I walked home from the metro, I realized that the warm, but slightly cooler due to the earlier rain, air outside was perhaps the perfect running evening for a tired, maybe out-of-shape, slightly cranky young woman such as I resembled. Plus, running to some cranked-up tunes blasting out any other thoughts in my head seemed like a perfect state of mind to be in.
So I went for a nice, long run. I took a new route, wondering where I might explore, ended up running the perimeter of Pentagon City (my city-in-a-city of Arlington), and felt really great for most of it (surprisingly).
Sadly, I came home to my roommate trying to fix a flat tire that refused to be fixed - the screws of the old tire were practically super-glued on; they refused to budge. So my other roommate and I tried to help however we could, and I called a friend to see if he could come over and help. When he came over, I ate my dinner outside while trying to be supportive to everyone currently involved - I like to think I'm a pretty good cheerleader. When we came up with a plan of action for tomorrow, I said goodbye to my friend, waved to my roommate and her friend as they went to get some cheering-up treats for roommate, and jumped in the shower - it's humid out here and I was so sticky from running = GROSS.
I still planned to jump in bed after and snuggle up to something mindless for a little while. But when I came up to my room, I saw my puzzle waiting patiently for me, wondering if I'd like to spend some time with it. How could I say no? The poor thing was so lonely, sitting alone and hungry with nothing in its border. I needed to fill it a little - give it some substance. So I spent the next hour (or 2) sitting at my table with my puzzle. Finding joy in each puzzle piece I found a spot for. We had a blissful time together, Puzzle and I. And when I finally said goodnight to it, we both parted with a smile on our faces, having lifted each other up a bit.
I then went to bed, exhausted, but much happier, content than I had hours before, when I had anticipated getting into bed the first time. Turns out, worrying about someone else's problems distances you from your own problems a little bit - which was much needed yesterday.
And a good puzzle will always make me feel better.
And that was how my Friday night yesterday might've been my favorite Friday night in a long while.
Post-Script: This puzzle is actually kind of hard - the pieces like to pretend like they belong with other pieces when they really don't. So you can't always just trust the fit. You have to really pay attention to even the slightest variations in color. But it's from a pointilisim painting, so there will be variations in color...all this to say, that's why after 1-2 hours, I, a puzzle connoisseur, have only gotten this far on it...
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