There are a lot of things I am good at. Great at, in fact. Taking care of me...well, that's not one of them. Over and over again through the years, this fact has hit me in the face - like a Mack truck. The month of December showed me that again as I was the last of the 4 of us in our home to succumb to a nasty virus putting me in bed for 48 hours. I had a lot of time to think during that time. Good thing, too, as it was when this challenge and my dedication to self-care came together. And, I think "challenge" is the word here as this may be my MAJOR challenge this year, though I am determined to reframe this during the first quarter.
I want to acknowledge a lot of women do this self-care thing really well. They excercise, eat well, get their teeth cleaned, use moisturizer, get pedis...you get the idea. At one time I would have called these women high-maintenance. How's that for judgement? Now I am 44 and I call it self-preservation.
The second week of November I gave myself a pedicure. Myself. We were attending a wedding and I was wearing open-toed shoes. I had to have a pedicure. But, I was unwilling to give myself the time or the space to do so. Fast forward to this week. I walked into my fave nail spa, stumbled in more like it, took off my shoes and was shocked when I looked at my toes. So was the nail technician based on the pointing and laughter. Not. Kidding.
I had not planned on going in that day. Instead, I had planned out a full spa day for myself that would happen on Wednesday. My intent was to drop off The Moon at school, head down to the Salt Cave for an hour long detox (I have a gift certificate), take myself to lunch at Pei Wei (another GC) and then head to the nail spa. That small place in my mind that nags at me...the not enough place...not enough time...not enough money....not enough importance...said I couldn't have a full day just to myself. And then, I crashed.
A few minutes later I found myself in the car, driving to the nail spa and then in a chair listening to a meditation (posted above) while someone spent 45 minutes massaging my feet and legs. It was heaven. And, despite that little nag that I need to resolve, the right decision.
I didn't know how the self-care would manifest. Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Yes. I'm saving my Salt Cave GC and lunch for next week. After that, who knows, but there will be something each week.
How are you taking care of yourself? Do you have the understanding that you cannot take care of: your family, your business, your home, your pets, your whatever, unless you are healthy, happy and whole? Are you
eating well?
exercising?
meditating?
sleeping for at least 7 hours each night?
hydrated?
loving yourself?
What does self-care look like for you? I really want to know. There may be some great things that I can use or my readers can use to bring more self-love into our lives. Post here in the comments or over in the Clearing the Way group.
We are nearing the end of week one and I truly feel that this idea of self-care and self-love is the key to being successful this year and all years after. These small things that we have begun with this year - the purse, our cars, self-care - are big things and have eased us in. Next week, move to the kitchen. It's gonna get interesting...and dirty. And then....it will be clean and organized.
Peace to you,
Dana
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