Self-Care Sign In – 3

(I picked “Sign In” since it isn’t Sunday, but it has a nice ring to it, so we’ll call it a happy accident!)

Weeks like this last one serve as a wonderful reminder of the importance of revisiting – often! – the “why” of self-care. Left to our own devices, many Divas can burn themselves out taking care of others. We like to be helpful, we’re good at it, and the world is quick to praise us for that sort of thing. The problem is this – if we give and give and give without replenishing our supplies, we will start to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find the energy to take on one more task and eventually that friction will lead to sparks, then to smoke, then to flames, then to an inferno.

And then – let me tell you – no one’s picking up the car pool.

Frequent self-care is necessary for us to go into the world and do the work that we must do. Full stop.

For me, this has been one of Those Weeks. The details don’t matter all that much; any of us can tell a similar tale. There have been work deadlines and people who needed our attention and expertise, and family issues, and bills to pay, and chores to do, and, and, and. I don’t know when it’s going to let up, either.

These are the weeks when self-care is MORE important, not less.

So, in a week that saw stress piled up to the ceiling, I made time to take care of myself – body, mind, and spirit. I hope you did the same.

This week, I:

• Gave my mom a quick, super basic manicure. Mom doesn’t usually like that sort of thing, so when she asked, I jumped. Great quality time and yes, self-care is sometimes getting out of your own head and helping someone else.
• Binged Archive 81, a show that had asked some interesting questions about film, image, and memory.
• Consistently found 10 – 20 minutes a day to work on learning French. I read at a kindergarten level, yes, but I’m having great fun learning.
• Made time for perfume and red lipstick, two things that always pep me up.
• Accepted a gift with grace – a friend thought of me when making a lovely hand-crafted ornament and I was delighted to receive it.
• Treated myself to an early birthday half-day, including buying a fantastic “Queen Bee” sleepshirt that I’m pairing with black capris for an Audrey Hepburn vibe.
• Allowing myself a breakfast of strong coffee, a lemon macaron from my favorite bakery, and creamy coffee yogurt.
• Ending a whirlwind day of chores and responsibilities with a slice of homemade pound cake, while listening to Dave Brubeck and Duke Ellington records.

Divas, I implore you – take care of yourself! Every day! It’s the only way you can possibly have energy to take care of the world, and the world needs taking care of right about now.