Marti's Musings: Preventative Maintenance

Paul has been posting about several things he does to do preventative maintenance on our RV.  One significant preventative maintenance item he hasn't, nor probably would he post about, is what he does..... for me.

After a particularly difficult week at work - which entailed very long days: some til 9 or 10pm, others beginning at 4am - by week's end I could barely think straight.  It had gotten so I could only sleep a few hours, then I would get up, and head back to work, no matter the hour.

About mid-week, Paul was talking about the weekend away.  "uh-huh" I thought, barely able to focus on it.  Friday, he had the day off to do several chores that need to be done routinely.  Of course, I tried to get home early, seeing as the day started at 4am, but didn't get out til 6pm. 

I duly packed a pair of jeans, undies and my entertainment items (book, DS, laptop) and headed to the waiting camper.  Because we got a late start, we didn't make it to our original destination, so after driving slightly over an hour and a half,  (in bumper to bumper traffic, no less) we gave up and stopped at a WalMart.

Now before you get all hot and bothered about that, this particular WalMart has a string of parking spaces blocked off,  and it reads:  RV and Truck parking 10pm-7am.  Perfect.  We did our weekend WalMart run, and ate dinner about 10pm.  Shortly thereafter, Paul headed to bed.  I was just starting to unwind.... so I stayed up to read, surf the net etc.

Yeah, well, it took an extra long bit of time to de-stress.  Actually, I headed to bed at 4:30am - finally feeling a little bit tired.   (!!!!)  That didn't last long, I was awake again about 7:30 (thanks, Zoe) - so we de-watered the dog, walked to a Bob Evans that shared the parking lot, and headed out again.

Well, 3 hours of sleep and a good breakfast under my belt started to thaw my brain - especially driving AWAY for the (rest of) the weekend.  We had some time to kill before we could check in, so we made a few stops. 

It was during one of those stops, that Paul gave me a big hug and said "ahh, now your starting to relax".  Sure enough, we got an early check in, put out the lounge chairs and kicked back. (I'll let him post about the electrical issues) The day passed uneventfully, (despite a call and numerous texts  from work), which was exactly what Paul knew I needed. 

We enjoyed the afternoon, complete with burgers on the grill, reading, walking, napping (Paul), we even pulled out our portable campfire. 

Finally, 9pm I get tired and head to bed.  12 hours later I woke up... can you believe that??  It only took a much needed day away to be able to relax, unwind... and sleep.

Preventative maintenance?  Yup, the most needed kind.  My wonderful husband, in his wisdom, knew enough to push me to get away, to allow me to unwind, and recharge my batteries.  When I get that worked up, after a particularly tough week, sleep becomes elusive and I get so stressed, I often just say we should stay home for the weekend, and do a myriad of chores that always need to be done.  He did all the cooking, and just allowed me a weekend to de-stress, the perfect type of preventative maintenance - for my sanity. (thus the license plate RSanity)  I feel mightily blessed having a husband/companion/best friend, who takes his preventative maintenance so seriously - especially when he is preserving my mental health. 

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to leave a comment.  We love our followers, and enjoy your comments (and other's, too!)  more than you'll know.  ~Marti