Rough day?
Yeah.
Come sit down.
Shoes off, if they're still on.
Find a spot that feels good.
The couch, a chair by the window.
You don't have to be anywhere else right now.
Let out a big sigh.
The kind you've been holding since lunch.
Let's close the workday properly.
Picture yourself shutting the laptop.
Hear the little click.
Picture hanging your keys on the hook by the Your door.
bag goes on the It floor.
can stay there till tomorrow.
Anything left undone...
jot it on an imaginary sticky note and stick it to the fridge.
It'll be there in the morning.
You don't need to hold it tonight.
If a conversation from today keeps replaying...
that's normal.
Put it on a sticky note too.
Stick it right next to the other one.
Now say it quietly to yourself.
"Done for today."
Start with your face.
Scrunch it up tight...
then let it go slack.
Your jaw.
It's probably been clenched for hours.
Let it hang a bit.
Shoulders up to your ears...
hold...
and drop them.
Make fists with both hands.
Squeeze.
And open them, fingers loose.
Tighten your belly for a second...
then let it go soft.
Squeeze your legs, and curl your toes.
And release.
All the way down.
Breathe in slowly through your nose...
And out through your mouth, a little longer.
In...
smelling the evening air.
Out...
letting the day drain out through your feet.
Picture porch at dusk.
The sky going orange, then purple.
Somewhere, crickets are starting up.
There's nothing you need to do out here.
Just sit.
Watch the light go.
The air's a bit cooler now.
You pull a sweater around you.
The day is getting smaller and smaller behind you.
I did enough today.
My evening belongs to me.
Slowly come back to the room.
Stretch your arms out if you like.
Go make some tea, or dinner, or nothing at all.
The workday is closed.
Enjoy your evening.