Thursday, February 16, 2012

Mental Health Day

Earlier in the week when I was writing about “Acedia”, I mentioned the need for some people to have a “me” day. Some people also refer to such days as mental health days. I am going to have such a day tomorrow. It will be nothing unusual. I will still get up at 6:00 AM like I always do on workdays. I will still drive my wife to her office as I always do. However, instead of driving to my office, I will go up the I-65 ramp on 1st Street and head south. I-65 is always very intense in the downtown area. The traffic and intensity doesn’t seem to lesson until you get to the Brooks Road exit. Once I get past that I can relax, drink my coffee, enjoy my music, be one with the drive. I will get off at the Bardstown exit and turn left on Highway 245. It’s a very scenic drive, at least for now. There is talk of expanding the highway to four lanes all the way into Bardstown for the development of a “Bourbon Trail”. This is due to all of the distilleries in the neighborhood and Kentucky’s desire to make this area similar to California’s Napa Valley. Once I get through Bardstown and turn left at St, Joseph’s Cathedral I will head down Highway 31E to the home of my good friend, Father Dennis. We are going to spend the day together. After a good breakfast at a nearby restaurant, we’ll decide how we will spend the day. Whatever we do, or wherever we go, the day will be peppered with stimulating conversation. Dennis lives very close to the monastery so I expect to make a visit there, too. It’s good to have mental health days, it’s good to have great friends, and it’s good to step away from one’s normal routine whenever possible. Although I may be tired by the time I return home, I will be mentally and spiritually refreshed. I will need to be since the weekend is near and most weekends I am in the most important role of my life which is being Paw Paw to a little girl named Chloe.

No comments: