"Waiting" to "Pausing"

I’m waiting to hear the outcome of my third, two-hour long interview from Monday. I was put in a mock session of what the job would entail, and though not mind-blowing, it would be a nice stop-gap for the time being, I think.

But, there’s the trouble. I’m thinking about it a lot. Trying to angle whether this is a good fit for me, if it’s better than the unknowable, and … I’m tired.

I’m tired of the questioning, I’m physically exhausted, emotionally, mentally. When I was on the phone with my mentor on Sunday, after unloading and processing through a lot of muck, she began to respond, and I stopped her by saying, hang on, I just want to finish:

then I told her all the plans I had for the week. Everything I was going to do to support my job search, cleaning up my home, other housekeeping style work like going down to the parking ticket office.

And when I was done with my litany, she said, Wow, it’s really hard for you to let yourself rest, isn’t it?

And here I was thinking that my “positive action” sequence was … positive. That it was showing I’m not slipping into despair, that I’m keeping the jackals at bay with all my activity. Isn’t that what an unemployed person is supposed to do? Keep busy? Do the footwork?

Even if they’re so tired they are on the verge of tears?

And so, this morning, already two cups of coffee into my day, with plans to get out of the house and meet up with people, I went back to bed for an hour. The caffeine kept me from sleep, but the resting was good. I am exhausted. It’s been mentally and spiritually challenging to show up as I have these past few months. It’s been hard, and I feel at the end of a grin-and-bear-it period, without the relief that comes when you stop grinning.

So, … not today, but perhaps tomorrow, I’ll commit to letting myself actually sleep in, to restore what’s been missing, and to gather energy for what’s next.

There’s already a lot to do today, tomorrow, Friday. You’d think being unemployed would mean a break, but I’ve got shit to do I can’t excuse myself from. However, I can sleep in, and let myself have that relief. I can allow it not to mean I’m lazy or going to fail or am being irresponsible.

Turns out, the most responsible thing I can do for myself at the moment is to take extra special care of myself, even if it makes me squirm.