Self-Care Wednesday

This past week has been hard for our family,due to the sudden passing of an incredible woman, my mother-in-law. She went into hospital on Thursday morning, and in spite of the hard work of many Doctors and nurses, slipped away from us on Friday evening.

When a loved one passes, Self-care becomes even more critical than ever, but is often the first thing pushed aside.  "How can I think of myself at a time like this?" we ask ourselves.

But perhaps it's best to think of it this way; would the person we are mourning want us to fall ill ourselves?

For us, self-care has included spending a little extra money to ensure that everyone is still eating, and eating well- the hectic rush of making arrangements often means less time for preparing food at home, so eating out becomes almost a routine in itself.

Even so, it's possible to eat well- take the time to sit, and try to enjoy a good meal. Enjoy the company you keep during this meal, even if everyone is quieter than usual, even if there are tears shed ...

And continue to enjoy that quiet, alone time in the shower, too.

Be well...

Wanted to share this photograph of my Mother In Law as a young woman. It's a great photo (there's another that I love even more, but don't have a copy of it on-hand)

Wednesday- Love of Self

Wednesdays will be dedicated to the Love of Self, or self-care.

Why Wednesday? Why Self-Care?

Well, Wednesday, because it is, for most of us, the middle of our week. "Hump Day"- it is neither the beginning of a new week, nor is it nearly close enough to the weekend! Many of us, at this point of the week, are just struggling towards Friday, with the hope of a break, however brief, from the treadmill that is the work week. To me, it seems as though this is as good a time as any to pause and take a moment for ourselves.

Why Self-care? Perhaps the expression "Self-care" seems out of place to you here, on a blog about love. But while it may seem inappropriate on the surface, it is truly a very important part of opening ourselves and our world to love.

Before we can love or care for others, we must first love and care for ourselves.

If you are a parent, it may well be that, by the time you have gotten your child or children ready for their day (whether it is changing a diaper, helping with the morning toiletting routine, feeding, bathing, packing lunches, getting them ready for the daycare drop-off ...), you are in such a rush that you consider yourself lucky if you can find the time to run a comb through your hair.

Or perhaps you find yourself pushing really hard to meet a deadline- whether it be for a task at work or a project for school, that you miss a meal (or two?).

Obviously, we are aware that this is not a good strategy for a healthy life. When we don't take the time to care for our own needs, we have less energy for others. We may even become ill. Much harder to care for others, study for school or get that project done when you're ill on top of everything else ...

So today, I ask you to open your mind to the possibility of loving yourself enough to take the time to not only eat, but actually enjoy what you are eating. To not only allow yourself the luxury of a quick shower in the morning, but to really feel the sensation of the warm water on your skin.

Being "present in the moment" isn't always an easy thing to do, but it's a great gift that we can give ourselves ...

Be well,

Theme-o-rama!

In one of those quiet, unassuming moments, in this case, washing the dishes at my kitchen sink, I came upon the theme I wish to use in recreating this blog. What's that, you say?

In a previous post, I stated blogs that have a following usually have a common theme. It is that which makes them popular. Up until now, I have tended to use this blog as a semi-public diary, with topics ranging from kids, work, knitting, vocational crises ... all of interest to me, but not all of interest to the world. Not to mention that some of the posts I made here have been more than just a little lame :-P

I already have other accounts to which I can post my diary-like entries, so why duplicate that here, right? Sadly, it took me a while to come to that conclusion. I have removed most of my original posts on this blog- those which are either too personal, or have no relevance to the project.

But I'm repeating myself. Total stall-tactic. I'm good at that ;-)





Perhaps you are wondering what the new theme will be?

LOVE

Yes, Love. That simple. And I do not mean candy hearts and flowers and romance, although I am sure I will discuss those from time to time. I am talking about the love we bring to our everyday world, to our life. Love of friends. Love of family. Love thy neighbour.

Love of ... life.

Will you join me?