Now that I’m retired, it would be stretching matters more than a little to say I ever have a demanding day. Even before that, my job was walking packs of dogs in the countryside and looking after other kinds of household pets. Of course, that line of work does have its stressful moments, but it’s not exactly pressurized, is it? Not in the way of the corporate world, for instance.

These days, my only daily pressure is in demanding the butler serves my wine at the correct temperature come dinner-time.

Kidding! I don’t drink wine.

Nah – neither do I have a butler. (My friend does, though. He has a butler with no left arm. Serves him right.)

Actually, as it happens, I am busy all day. It’s true – when you retire the most frequent observation you’ll make is that old cliche: ‘I don’t know how I found the time to work.’

I’ll spend most of the day on my laptop, distracted in some way by Blog Prompts or writing some kind of inane nonsense. I’ll maybe be working on a book project, and at some point I’ll manage to fit in a Pickleball session. Additionally, this past year or so, I’ve been working towards my Pickleball Club Coach Award, so that takes up time. Then there’s all the family things to fit in; household and garden work to be carried out.

Hey – it’s not exactly stressful, is it. But, it is hectic. So I like to ‘unwind.’

How do I ‘unwind?’ I don’t watch much television, other than sport. And that’s not at all relaxing when you’re emotionally invested in a team. So maybe I’ll play some music. But then, I’m into punk and loud, aggressive sounding music. And that’s hardly likely to soothe the mind. So, I’ll maybe go onto social media … but if there’s one thing guaranteed to get me wound up … it’s social media!

Ok – time for a nice, relaxing hot bath. That’ll do the trick. But then, every five minutes I hear my wife shouting from downstairs, “Are you still awake?!”

Right! Bed! Sleep. But I can’t, for thinking about what I’ve got to do tomorrow.

So, another ‘demanding day’ dawns. And you know what?

These ‘demanding days’ are how I unwind.

All that intentional, sought after ‘unwinding’ is far too demanding.

😉