I Rested a Full Five Days, and Rested More Than Enough

After the summer vacation began, I rested at home for a full five days, and rested more than enough. These five days were, for me, a rare spell of laziness; I did not even want to open a book. I went to the vegetable plot to pick some vegetables, tended the flowers and plants on the balcony, combed the cat's fur, played the house husband—cooking, stir-frying, and cleaning—chatted with my elderly father, and after meals went out for a stroll or a bicycle ride with my wife. The pace of life slowed down considerably.

The only tasks I still kept up daily were the daily word review on the Maimemo app and the daily writing I have kept up for years—but even those were done in a very perfunctory state.

I needed a good rest, but even when resting, I did not quite want to lay down some habits I have kept for years, because once we middle-aged people completely loosen up, we may not be able to return to our former state. I only want to rest for a few days; I do not want to stop my forward momentum.

Days like these will not be the norm for me. Starting tomorrow, I will return to my normal state of study and work; there are still many tasks to complete over the summer, and I am not used to a long-term state of doing nothing. It is just that I really overexerted myself recently and needed a good rest to recover.

Yesterday, while tidying up the flowers and plants on the balcony, I was drenched in sweat; after the sweat came out, the shoulder pain resolved without medicine—it seems this shoulder pain was most likely caused by air conditioning. There are still fifty days of summer vacation left; before the vacation I left many tasks undone for lack of free time, and starting tomorrow I will complete them one by one.