I wait for decompression like a new parent waits to hear their baby yell moments after birth.
I yearn for that feeling like an office worker yearns for their boss to suddenly disappear without a trace.
I hold onto the hope of that sweet release like a magician who is testing out the sawing-in-half trick for the first time live.
And when it finally happens, I feel like a pressure cooker venting all the steam.
It's a feeling like watching a hot air balloon get deflated.
It's like feeling your back crack after getting out of the car at the end of your 8 hour drive with the family.
It's like feeling all the stress of the week leave your body in a cloud of intangible vapors, allowing you to sag limply on your couch, tired, but happy.
The week can fill me with such high amounts of stress that I can feel my muscles turning into uncooked pasta, ready to crack under the slightest amount of pressure.
I feel my teeth grind at night, watch the bags form under my eyes, and my head starts to pound like there's a rhythmic drum hidden somewhere in my cerebellum.
But the decomp makes it all worth it.
That one moment of, "...Ahhhhh," that hits you like a breeze on a hot summer day.
You can practically feel your body loosening, turning into pudding that you intend to mold into the shape of your bed for the next two days.
There's something so magical about the moment that you feel when it all comes to a halt.
That moment when the whistle blows, telling you that even if all your work might not be resolved, you can rest, at least for a day or two.
It's like the relief you get when you hear a siren, look into your rear view, see a cop speeding up, then watch as they blow past you, chasing someone else who was speeding.
It's like finishing a compelling book that ends on a cliffhanger, only you already bought the next book and start reading it right away.
It's like seeing your partner after a week of being away, and watching them smile when they notice you turning the corner in the airport.
It's a good feeling.
It washes over you.
It encompasses your whole body.
And it always makes you smile.