I have a habit. A habit of taking baths in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. My husband Kyle is excellent at falling asleep. He can fall asleep faster than I can get comfortable. I admire that about him.

I’m gonna be real honest here. Because there is something that I’ve learned in the last 10 months. It’s that honesty is what people love. It’s what people want. When I wrote a post on marriage and was honest, people responded.We all want to know each other. Not just the surface layers, but the ones that take some digging. Where the dirt is. But also where the treasure is. So here we go. Let’s start digging.

The past season of life has been incredible. Incredibly wonderful and incredibly busy. To be quite honest, when October hit, I felt exhausted.

Honest moment number one. The easiest way for me to know if I am stressed is to see how many baths I’ve taken in a week. There was a week in the midst of the busyness where I took a bath every night. Because my brain was lists of things to do, emails to return, people to see, and the piles of laundry that needed to be folded.  And for some reason, when I am taking a bath, I forget all of it. I’ve done this since high school. I think it was because I have smart parents, who when life got to be too much, told me to take a bath. To sit. To disconnect. To breathe. It works for me.

Honest moment number two. Shooting 11 weddings in 8 weeks was not the only thing that was making life crazy. That was just a piece of the picture. But weddings are equally as wonderful as they are stressful, when you are a photographer. Making sure to capture all of the moments and deliver a quality product is in the forefront of my mind on each wedding day. An element of stress is good, it allows me to push myself to do my very best.

So when October arrived, it was time to breathe. There were no weddings on the books, and weekends would be spent recharging.

For my birthday, Kyle asked me what I wanted to do. I wanted to get away. I wanted to go to a hotel, where beds are magically made, towels are perfectly folded, and midnight snacks are delivered by people wearing bowties. He took me to the Westin in Bellevue. (Sidenote : WE LOVE Westin Hotels. We stayed at the one in Cabo for our honeymoon and their service cannot be beat.) We went to Daniel’s Broiler for dinner and had delicious steak, yummy appetizers, a baked potato the size of a small pumpkin, and their fresh ginger ale. YUM. On Saturday, he let me shop. All day. I drug him around Bellevue Square looking for the perfect platter to serve my first Thanksgiving Turkey on. I picked out new oven mits, and a pretty scarf. It was glorious.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want to give you permission. To CELEBRATE. To Relax. To Recharge. To Rest. To admit you need a break.

On Facebook, I see so many posts about people being stressed, exhausted, in need of a vacation. You know what I want to say? TAKE ONE. Take a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a weekend. Call your bestie, tell her you need a dinner date. Or call your parents, and ask them to watch the kids for a night. Call your husband, and tell him you need a weekend away.

Because life keeps going. It will keep going. Things will keep being added to the schedule, or to your to-do list. Laundry never ends, neither do bills, or yardwork. So there might not be a “perfect” time to make this happen. But that’s why its called MAKING it happen. You have to be intentional.

I find that sometimes I am just in need of permission. As weird as that sounds. It is easier for me to relax when someone says, “You deserve it. Take some time.” And I know some of my best friends are the same way. They need me to tell them, “Buy the scarf. Get a pedicure. Laundry will wait, come to dinner.”

So here’s your permission.

It’s almost November. And the Holidays are quickly approaching. So before you are worried about wrapping gifts with perfect bows and sending out correctly addressed Christmas cards, take a minute to celebrate.

I’ll join you. I’m on a roll. Let’s get a pedicure and a coffee.