Relaxation hasn’t changed much for me over the years. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by my daily life, I get under my fuzzy blanket, snuggle down onto the couch and read my book. If it’s been one of those days and I get home and can’t seem to concentrate on the words on the page, then I turn on the tv and flip through stations. Or streaming services now that has become a thing.
Back in the day, when I listened to music on a more regular basis, I’d sometimes stick my iPod on and listen to a few tunes. I had one of those Nanos, the little square ones that only held 1,000 or so songs. It didn’t hold a lot to be honest, but it seemed like a lot at the time. I wish they still made the iPod Nano because I thought the design looked sleek and didn’t take up a lot of room, making it easy for me to stick it in my pocket. Very handy for when I was traipsing across the college campus. I’ll have to save up some money for a new iPod someday. They don’t look half as nice as my Nano, in fact they look more like cell phones (I always think my co-worker has a second cell phone when she has hers out until I realize it’s an iPod — I’m so dumb sometimes.), but it’d be nice to listen to songs again, even though I can do that from my cell phone.
Now that I have a smartphone (surprisingly, I’ve only had one since 2019, don’t judge me for being late to the party), the way I relax has expanded ever so slightly. Lately, I’ve become obsessed with taking baths — something that my husband got me into since he’s into baths. I’ll find a good podcast or some nature sounds and listen to that while I soak in the tub. If I’m listening to nature sounds, I’ll sometimes read a book, other times, I just lay there and enjoy the hot water. Sometimes I’ll even find something I like on YouTube and listen to that.
Writing this has made me realize that my methods of relaxation has changed over the years. Maybe it’s because I’m older and have a different set of responsibilities, or even because I’m married with a house and a dog and how I relax is different. Whatever the case, my need for relaxation has definitely morphed and changed!
How do you relax at the end of the day?
This post was originally posted on Medium here in response to the Writing Prompts post “Taking Breaks.”
Ashley French 
It used to be primarily reading, but now it’s TV, word games in my iPad and other online stuff in addition to reading
Sounds like fun to me!