Self Care Sundays
A few years back, when I was a “we” and not a “me” (that’s a topic for another blog…) Sunday was all about the NFL. My eyes would no sooner open and I would hear the dulcet tones of the Sportsnet Pro Panel discussing the logistics of the day’s games, the standings, the quarterbacks, the scratches and the healthy players and the like. I would be making brunch and the games would come on at 10 am and go all day, most of the time. Often we would go to the pub for the game of the day and that would soon become our typical Sunday, as a “we”. Where are you guys? “We” are at the pub, watching the game.
Once I was a “me” again I held on to that ritual, as though my life depended on it. This is my thing, just because you’re not around you can’t take my Sundays from me. Three years hence, I found myself spending at least three hours in the pub on a Sunday, eating garbage food, drinking too many beer and wandering home after dark to prepare for my work week, feeling tired, disorganized and, frankly, kind of burnt out, and the week hadn’t even begun. Then, Covid…yes, Covid.
If the last two years has given me anything, it has taught me that I need adequate self care and grounding if I am to be the best version of myself for my team, my students and “me”. Thus, I enacted “Self Care Sundays”. Do I still love football? Sure! But I have a TV at home and I can do the pub, if it suits me…I try not to be all or nothing with myself because it’s “crazy making” (I’m not good with restrictive thinking, it can make me nutty…not good nutty)…so, if I feel like I could meet some people for a game then, that’s cool but if I don’t feel like it then I don’t.
Time is precious, most of us really don’t have enough of it to spare. I try to do my cleaning, shopping and errands on a Friday night or Saturday morning. I plan for a lovely Sunday night meal. It is the center of my Sundays now, that preparation, that looking forward and that nourishment of the Sunday night dinner. I think it echoes and harkens back to childhood. The Sunday night meal was always more special, more formal or took more preparation. We would sit at the table, not in front of the TV. I’m all alone…what’s the point of that? The point is, I’m important enough to prepare a lovely meal for and the idea that I have created this for myself makes me feel good, accomplished and that I have engaged in an act of self love. I love slow food. Most often my meal is a slow cooker creation because it allows me the freedom of 6 to 8 hours of time without fussing over stirring, checking, turning or basting. Then…I can go outside!
Outside fills me back up again. I love the trees, the forest floor. Sometimes I’ll go to the beach and walk by the ocean and listen to the waves. At other times I’ll explore a favorite book store or wander a long forgotten neighborhood that I used to love, poking around in antique stores or fun little home decorating stores. I like to be on my own most of the time. It’s good to be able to listen to my own thoughts, my own inner voice. I get a lot of creative ideas walking alone. I process the things that rattle around in my brain, set them in order and often find myself breathing life into ideas for my classroom, my studio or my writing. I guess it’s a moving meditation. Meditation isn’t always that image we are all familiar with, perfect woman (man) in yoga pants, in front of a candle, with the most serene smile…eyes closed, in some idyllic, exotic paradise. Sometimes it’s just washing the floor and folding laundry in silence. Honestly, most of my best ideas have come to me during the more mundane tasks of every day life. What is important is the silence and the solitude of a lone wander through your own mind. I love Sunday for this!
Body, mind and spirit all receive care on Sundays. I like to ritualize my beauty routine on Sundays, as an act of self care, love and a little indulgence. A deep conditioning hair treatment, a long soak in a relaxing homemade salt bath or bath bomb, purchased from Sisters Sage, or a scrub and body butter slather, from my girls at Bean and Butter Body Snacks (leaves you smelling like a snack, for real!), can do a lot for my head and I feel all spa fresh and pampered…ready for my meal that’s been cooking all day long!
At the end of the day on Sundays I am rested, calm, well fed. My head, heart and body all feel comforted and cared for. I feel gratitude, for time, understanding, Hell, even for Covid, in some strange, roundabout way. Being locked down, home alone, having so much time on my own to really consider who “I” am and what I want, what serves me and really nurtures me has been incredibly important. So, I guess the pandemic has allowed me to grow, to change and change is good, it is the one, true constant in the universe. At the end of it, all things considered, I am glad to have had the solitary time, the dedicated time to myself to grow. That’s what Sundays are to me now. All that’s left to do is indulge in this amazing meal and snuggle in with the best roommate in the world!
Comments
Love the words of inspiration to take care of self.
The visuals are a wonderful addition!
C
Author
It’s always important but even more so now, during a time when things are so uncertain and stressful.