Work hard... play hard!
I love being described as hard-working. It’s a compliment I love to hear and it gives me, what I realise is, an unhealthy sense of pride. I have moulded hard-working into my personality and, sometimes, it’s unbelievably hard to live up to.
I realised this on Saturday. I was talking to my parents as I always do. It was a little later than usual and I was in town starting my Christmas shopping, believe it or not. I was chatting away to my mother when my dad popped his head on the video call to say hello. I know he hates talking on the phone, he’s never admitted it but we could talk for hours in person but on the phone it’s different. I hate it too, I won’t lie.
“You’re looking better than the last time I saw you,” he laughed.
Although he was joking, I knew he was right. The last time I rang home, I had just woken up from yet another migraine attack. I had been in the gym when I started seeing stars flashing in my eyes, light was unbearable and just above my right eyebrow started to ache. Luckily it was a holiday here in Belgium because I was in bed all day. I hate days like these, but in a way they remind me to slow down a bit.
What better way to relax than a spa day? After work on Friday, myself and one of my colleagues headed off to pamper ourselves. The spa is called Waer Waters and is located in Dilbeek, which is about 15 minutes outside of Brussels. As always I love taking trains out of the city, leaving the rush and buzz behind. It was amazing, we selected a night-time retreat from six to eleven. The pools, both indoor and outdoor, were lit with a blue - the same colours as the Cavan jersey. The walls were stone grey and the entire area was dimly lit, giving the impression that we were in a cave.
After this we went to the outdoor heated pool and chatted. My friend is 28 and honestly I love being around her. She was telling me about her ex who never made time for anything else other than work. It was always his priority and he never enjoyed doing anything else like going on holidays, going for walks, cafes, etc. She said it was like he was always trying to prove that he was the hardest worker, but to whom she didn’t know.
Eventually, she couldn’t put up with it any longer, which she revealed was hard because he was kind but just couldn’t see past his work life. As she was speaking, I began to panic a little. I know I am not on the same level as this man I have never met, but I did understand that part about having to prove that you're hard-working. I love telling people about the crazy work shifts I do, going from one job to the other - sometimes without having the time to check my phone, eat or anything.
In the office, when people speak about films or books, I can never really take part in the conversations because I haven’t seen or read them. I like telling people that I don’t have time to watch TV. Why? I don’t know.
In Belgium, I find people really use their weekends to relax and switch off from work. There is a huge emphasis on rest, working is unthinkable. At home it is different, weekends were always a chance for my dad to do jobs on the farm, my brother would be working and my mother would do the shopping. I too would be working. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but living out here I'm realising the switching off from work really is important. Before, when people said this, I would have laughed. Now though, I understand.
Perhaps finding a good work-life balance would be a better aspiration than a workaholic! We could all learn something from these Belgians.
* Gemma Good is from Killeshandra and a third year journalism student in University of Limerick
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