self care

some of us are better at self care than others. some do it naturally and don't have to work on it. i'm not one of those. i have to work at self care since i've been so other-focused all my life....but i'm gettin' better. what do i mean by self care? doing things just for me. remember dr. laura's adage tho: nothing fattening, illegal or immoral. uh, um, i'll take two out of three of hers.

i'm typically such a caretaker of others -  a mama, wife, teacher/caretaker in my work. God made us girl types this way, to be the caretakers of this world, even if we work outside the home as well. but what about me? not in a selfish think-i'll-go-to-paris-and-forget-all-this responsibility-stuff (tho that's not a bad idea). {{when i turned 40 i began reading fiction ravenously. before then, i'd read a lot of psychobabble books. one of the beach books i read was about a woman who was so fed up with taking care of others without any appreciation in return, she just walked away from the literal beach vacation, left her family without g'bye, got herself a job and a room in a nearby town. later she DID reconcile, i know you were worried....not a real good idea to put in THIS head o mine. that's why God's Word points us to prov 4:23, phil 4:8 among many others....}}

back to self care....on a daily or regular basis, what do i do to take care of ME? here's a list of some things i do. but paleeeaazzzz don't hear what i'm not saying:  i'm not talking about swinging over to the other side - doing everything for me, nothing for others. balance, girls. balance.

1. rub lotion on my feet when i get in bed at nite.

2. treat myself to coke and popcorn (homemade is the best) for supper on sunday nite in front of the tv in my bedroom. (i used to think tv in bedroom = sin. i was plumb wrong on that one.)

3. when i can blow the money, i go have a mani/pedi at CK salon up the street (hint: i take my own polish for them to use so i can do my own touchups at home to make it last longer).

4. go have my hair washed and blown dry just 'cause.

5. when i travel by air, i always buy a paperback book in the airport bookstore as a treat. it feels so extravagant.

6. when husband is out of town, i pick up us pizza just for me and bring it home, i gotta, it's tradition now.

7. try to have a good book going at all times (with all the falderal in my present life, concentration's not all that great. i'm reading one and another's in line but not getting much read end of day right now).

8. i take at least one girls' trip annually and then i really blow the dollars on mani/pedis and such (hopefully i've saved cash for this but sometimes i go anyway).

9. twice now, i have treated myself (tho once was a mother's day gift so that doesn't count) to a....facial. oy. again i say oy. i wept during the first facial. (if you want a rec for this esthetician, let me know). she said "you okay?"  i said "yes, it just feels so good for someone else to take care of me for a change."

and the 10th thing i do for selfcare??? (a la letterman)

10. go to an alanon meeting, just for me.

i hope you have your own list. whatever is JUST FOR YOU. whatever helps you get by, nurturing yourself as you are nurturing others, in this very serious life we live as sojourners here on earth, passing by on our way to heaven.