By Miranda Colbert
This blog was written by Miranda as part of her final project for the Self-Reg in Early Childhood Development program.
At the end of the day, when I am feeling drained and depleted…take me for a walk.
When I woke this morning I could feel the weight of exhaustion heavy on my shoulders. Everything from the week was weighing heavy on my mind. I can control my environment so I did some maladaptive coping:
- Caffeine
- Favorite shoes
- McDonald’s for lunch
I got the dopamine fix to keep my engine puttering along.
I reduced the stressors I could:
- I got my office manager to take out tubes from my bank of overhead lights
- Put on headphones
- Wrapped my office blanket around my shoulders
I made it through the day.
At home my 13 year old was happy to see me, she wanted to chat and sing and dance. I knew that I could not do those things by reducing stressors alone…I had to restore, I had to fill my gas tank before my engine ground to a screeching halt!
So we went to the lake. We walked outside. We threw stones and dangled our feet into the (very cold!) water off the dock. We laughed, saved beetles who were drowning, watched a fox melt into the trees.
Away from the noise, away from the needs, just me and my girl and nature.
That is Restoration.
