self-care in the form of taking time for yourself

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! Before I forget, I want to take care of a little "blog business". Here's a reminder from my Friday Favorites post two weeks ago, because September is right around the corner.

I want to remind you/tell you for the first time that I have taken over a link party that happens on the first Wednesday of every month—it's called "currently" and it's when we share from the topics I pick for each month. Anne over at Anne In Residence used to host this, but she ended it recently and then I reached out to her about taking it over...I know several blog friends who loved being a part of that as much as I did, so I'm excited to keep it going! I'll keep the link open all month long, in case you want to join in August's when we shared what we're currently loving, wearing, dreaming and hoping. On September 7, the topics will be loving, beginning, ending, picking and posting. I hope you join in! Here is the link from August...this will take place every month on the first Wednesday of the month. I hope you join me, so get your post scheduled! 

Moving on to the rest of today's post, I thought I'd start by asking you a question. What do you do to "treat" yourself? This could be anything that involves taking time for yourself, or doing something to energize you. I'd really love to hear what you do for this type of thing, because I do think it's important. For so many years, I didn't do this and somewhere along the way, I kind of got lost in the wonder and amazement of being a wife and mom. I didn't spend money on myself at all, because we didn't have a lot to spare and who has the kind of time for that kind of thing when you're in the throes of raising kids? I never had hair appointments, I never got manicures and would get one pedicure a year. I have always loved to read, but I didn't actually do much reading. I don't know what I did with down time, but like I said, I kind of got lost in the reality I was immersed in. 

That's not a bad thing! I wouldn't trade that time for anything in all of the world, I just keep finding that present day me is a lot different than the past version of me. I'll give you an example: I never took time to make myself presentable. I was a boy mom, so lots of days I never even put on makeup. I never wore anything other than pants/jeans/shorts and t-shirts. I've never considered myself fashionable and truthfully, I just didn't care all that much about what I looked like. Another way I've changed so much is with camping. I used to love to camp! It was how we vacationed with the boys when they were little. Looking back, I think it was one of those things that a friend of mine used to call a "kiss from the King". I loved camping with them, but I'll never forget the very last trip we all took together...I was in a bathroom stall and looked down to see a tarantula spider in the stall with me and I thought to myself how good of a run it had been. That was the last camping trip I went on with them, even though a variation of them still like to do this. 

All of that being said, I enjoy things that I used to not enjoy, things like dressing up and shopping with my moms and sisters. I remember meeting a friend at church who I found out I had a lot in common with, and she was instrumental in "teaching" me how to dress. Now I enjoy getting dressed everyday and looking put together. It'll never fail to amaze me when people compliment my clothing choices, because as recently as five years ago, I didn't care what I wore. I still enjoyed things like making my home a haven for my family members and decorating and things like that, but even that has increased with years of things like blogs and social media. I don't consider this a bad thing either, because I've found a little space here on the internet that I love, with people who feel like real-life friends that comment and encourage. I love to inspire and to be inspired online and I always like to try to do that kind of thing. 

It should be easy to understand why blogging is one thing I do for "self-care". I really enjoy the writing that I do here, even the fluffy stuff. It feels like a creative outlet and the words usually aren't ever hard to find. I do sometimes struggle with content, because as the boys have grown up and flown the nest, so to speak, it's not so much about them these days. I also love to read other blogs! Some of my favorites are Andrea, Shay, Tanya, Rebecca Jo, Maria, Jennifer, Holly, Joanne, Marilyn, Amy and Jen. (I listed them in the order that I have them bookmarked, I love them all equally!) 

Another thing I do for myself is read. I love to read and have since I was in first grade. I'll never forget when reading "clicked" for me—I was in first grade with Mrs. Shaw at Collierville Elementary school. She introduced me to my lifelong hobby and the first book I ever read that hooked me from the first page was about a cat named Garfield. The rest is history. Because I love to read, I find time to read. I take my Kindle everywhere I go and any spare time I have, I read. This means I read in the mornings while I wait for Dad on Fridays, I read while I wait on appointments, I read while I wait on dinner to cook and pretty much every other time of day. 

You all know that I love to get my nails done. Before I started paying for this, I always gave myself manicures twice a week, because for as long as I can remember, I have loved having painted fingernails. Seriously, this love started in elementary school and has never stopped, except for the years I was too busy being a mom to little kids. Now I love getting them done every three to four weeks and I spend time picking out colors I know I'll love, so I always go in with an idea in mind. I do the dip powder these days, because it's long lasting and because I am really hard on my fingernails and they break easily. The dip powder makes that impossible.

I also pay to have my hair done three times a year. I was so fortunate to have a super talented mom who did this for me for years, but it started being more of a chore for her as my hair got longer. I've been seeing my girl for at least five years now, but before that I first met her when my sons were little. I would go to her a few times a year for a trim, so we've known each other for a long time. I've introduced her to many people—family members and friends and I love her and consider her a good friend. More than I love her talent with hair, I love her heart for Jesus. 

Additionally, I love to watch tv/movies and I really enjoy being alone, as an introvert. Even so, too much of that can be a bad thing, so I have also thoroughly enjoyed working again. I really, really wished that I could tell you that I love exercising or walking, but I really don't. I am so much more of a girly girl these days, something that keeps taking my husband by surprise. Sometimes he looks at me like he's wondering who in the world I am and what I did with the girl he married. I am still low maintenance and things that matter to some women, don't matter to me. I don't really care about brand names, expensive clothing/shoes/handbags and jewelry is something I tolerate. I do have some cute earrings, bracelets and necklaces, but none of them are expensive. I also don't do "fancy", which I've heard him tell the boys he really loves. Aside from being more girly now than I used to be (like with my love of all things pink right now), I am still simple and it doesn't take much to keep me happy. I love things like thoughtful gifts and quality time, which can't be labeled with a price. 

So, what do you do in this form of "self-care"? Or, what is your guilty pleasure? I haven't said this, but one guilty pleasure is binge watching episodes of a favorite show while I'm alone on a weekend night. I also love a glass of wine and consider that a guilty pleasure. Tell me something about YOU! I'd love to hear from you on this. As always, thanks for reading my blog! Love to all.