Self-care to me means reading fiction or interesting nonfiction. Slowing my pace. Coffee with a friend. Watching the birds in my backyard. Savoring the smell of a morning cup of coffee. Sleeping in. Taking macro photos of flowers. Savoring a kiss. Getting a manicure.
Self-care is also making life easy for myself, like planning out meals and going grocery shopping for an entire week of dinners. Doing laundry on a Sunday so everyone has the clothes they need for a successful week. It means lowering my standards sometimes, especially when it comes to expectations I have of myself.
What is self-care to you and how do you slip it into your day?
I have been setting up a new computer this week and kinda forgot about twitter! Self care for me means getting exercise and practicing guitar and/or mandolin every day. I also feel guilty if I don’t work hard enough, but that doesn’t qualify as self care. Exercise and enough sleep are two big things that influence my mood. They reinforce one another. The night after a good run, I am still slightly more tired than usual, and I sleep more soundly. After sleeping well, I feel physically strong, and look forward to exercise. 🙂
So many things go into good self-care. Brave Girls’ email today was about how it’s good self-care to NOT have that candy so your body is healthier, getting exercise for the same reason. Sometimes it takes sacrifice.