On March 23, 2021, at 9:17 p.m. I enjoyed the most exquisite form of self-care. I enjoyed it in its entirety, a shower. No interruptions. Hot, steamy water. I washed my hair, and deep conditioned it. I shaved my legs. I not only washed but also did a facial scrub for my face. I put lotion on after the shower. I brushed my hair with care.
For some of you, you may think, why is this even a big deal? Well, I’m a mom, a single mom at that, so I don’t always have the time, energy, or even the will to do a deep long shower like I had tonight. With my little babe fast asleep in his bed, the dog, asleep on his bed, the cool Spring air wafting through windows it felt like the absolute best time to treat myself! I am also a Cancer sign and was born by the beach, so water resonates and rejuvenates me; in times of trauma or strife, I find water to get me back to an even keel.
What sparked the self-care tonight and not other nights? It could be that it was a perfect storm of all the right timing, a Tipping Point you could say. It could also be because I am halfway to being vaccinated, and the possibilities of being out (and my legs potentially being seen by other people than my dog) encouraged me to jooge up myself.
It’s been a year since I’ve had my eyebrows done (it shows), seven months since a pedicure (it shows), and a year since I’ve been in the gym (that reallly shows) and I’m over the feeling of being a humdrum mom. On my way to daycare drop off today, I turned on a Spotify Playlist that had some BANGERS, the kind of songs that have cars beeping at you because you are too busy seat twerking to notice that the light changed to green type songs. If you’ve seen the viral Tik-Tok video of a teacher teaching the ABCs to some of hip-hops greatest songs, I can surely tell you that I was not listening to the Rated G version of that song.
So it seems like Spring has sprung me. It’s opened me up to possibilities, it’s brought a sense of renewal and energy to my life that I knew I was missing but wasn’t quite sure what and how to fix it. Seasonal depression is a thing ya’ll, especially if you live in Pittsburgh where it is grey for 250 plus days a year! So the sprung me was dressed up today, with make-up and heels on, and I took a glorious shower and permitted myself to start putting self-care as an everyday occurrence, and not just a “treat”. Part of this was sparked by my good friend Byron Nash, Founder of DUYA Wellness. We chatted today on my Coffee & Chats about his business, and he said something that resonated with me. He said he makes his clients do really hard workouts in these ten-minute intervals. It sucks, and it hurts, but it’s just ten minutes, so you can push yourself to do it. We talked further on the point, that if you can’t find ten minutes a day to take care of yourself, you’re really bad off. And that hit me. That even though I had been doing so well with a lot of forms of self-care (saying no, setting boundaries, going to sleep at a decent time), I was making NO TIME for me — for my basic human needs.
So on March 23, 2021, at 10:25 p.m., I wrote a vow to myself — to find ten minutes every day, to find something that is a form of self-care for myself. I wrote it down in a notebook—- to hold myself accountable. Even the self-care guru needs reminders to be #selfishwithselfcare
With love and gratitude,
Tori