This week it is easy to be grateful. I am sitting on a back porch, surrounded by trees, with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. There is shade, the heat is not stifling, the three children and two teenagers are quiet, as are the adults.

My only concern is whether I will be able to relax enough to reenergize.

I realize that is crazy. The loony kind of nuts. Who worries if they are going to be able to relax? It could be run-of-the-mill type A behavior. Or it could be good habits coming back to bite me in the ass. Is it possible that I have been so focused on productivity during down time, that I can’t actually do nothing?

Let’s look at all the things I have been doing over the past few months to keep busy. Looking through job listings and applying to jobs, networking, attending webinars, reading career reinvention books and articles, speaking with recruiters, writing fiction, blogging, walking, baking, eating, watching television, reading. It’s a long list.

The only thing I haven’t done is nothing.

In a house in the middle of the woods there is an amazing amount of nothing. Hours spent on this porch in quiet, or not so quiet, contemplation. With family, there is always someone to sit and talk with, or somewhere to sit and not talk. And yet, I walk around with my laptop, my phone, my book –in case I get a moment alone, I can spend it writing or reading or scanning the job postings or checking my email.

Productive moments are rare, and when they happen, they are short, and frequently interrupted. Even as I contemplate whether to bag my productive tasks and sit quietly, I am joined by another clan member eager to stare at the blue sky with me.

So this is a long-winded and winding way of saying, if I don’t post next week, you can rest assured I have mastered the art of doing nothing.

This week’s simple pleasures: dark chocolate covered pretzels, walking, sudoku, sunshine, blue skies, and being with family