The View From Here – Self Care Is Necessary

I took a day off yesterday.  From everything.

Call it what you want.  Self care day.  Mental health day.  Vacation day.  It was a day to do nothing – on purpose.  Sure I did some adulting.  I handled a few responsibilities that needed my attention.  I did some banking.  Got the oil changed in my car.  And I got some blood work done because it’s just something you need to do once in a while to make sure you’re okay.  Especially when things happen that make you wonder. (smile)

Part of getting older I guess.  Our bodies change.  I have had a few conversations over the last few days with different women about hormones, and mood swings, and how HARD perimenopause and menopause can be.  Nobody signs up for it.  Nobody wants it.  Yet here we are. Trying our best to handle it.

I have been reading and learning about hormones and this stage in life.  I had a situation a few weeks ago where my vision went blurry and I had trouble speaking.  It scared me, but thankfully we have the ability to see a doctor and I did.  An appointment with an eye doctor told me I had likely suffered from an “ocular migraine” which can be caused by stress, hormones or high blood pressure.  Thus the doctor visit and the blood work.  I found out that a number of people in my circle have suffered the same.  They are scary when they first happen, but it seems to happen to a lot more people than I ever realized.

There’s a great deal of comfort in knowing that other people have shared the same experiences.  Maybe that’s why I share with you.  So you know you aren’t alone, and you can tell me the same.

Add in kids leaving home.  Feeling like we aren’t needed anymore.  That’s a challenge.  Our oldest daughter has gone on her first cross Canada adventure and she did it on her own.  Without our assistance.  And that kinda stings a bit.

So we adjust our sails.  Again.  And take a self care day.  Or mental health day.  So we can get our footing again.

And maybe eat an ice cream drumstick for breakfast and get yourself a box of Twinkies and a Grape pop because they remind you of when you were a kid and didn’t feel so overwhelmed by life at times.

Day 9 of living without a refridgerator on top of everything else has been a challenge.  Tried to make the most of it in the beginning, living out of coolers in the kitchen, but that novelty has worn off.

When they say they don’t make em like they used to – it’s true.

All I can say is – I have earned every gray hair on my head these last few months.  (smile)

I hope you take self care days for yourself.  I hope you have those days where you stay in your pj’s till noon and leave the dishes in the sink and eat ice cream for breakfast and focus on you and what you need in the moment.

Because life can get overwhelming and it can feel too much.

Take time to take care of you when you can.

You’ll feel better for it.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan