What does self care mean to you?
I was asked this question last week. First two things out of my mouth were a face mask and a shower alone. Kind of ridiculous but also not ridiculous at all. Now my head was in it...what do I do to bring joy and a sense of relaxation to ME, just me, not my family, my friends or my son, just ME!
It’s easy for us to tell other women in our lives, “you need to take care of yourself” but are we actually doing it for ourselves? I am oh so guilty of this. I’ve felt my wheels spinning for a while now. Pretty much since I got pregnant with my son which is now almost 4 years ago. How can I slow down? I have to stay inspired, continue to create, maintain relationships, grow as a mother, an artist, take on more work,........it goes on.
This summer I made the decision not to do Holiday Mini Sessions. This has been a huge part of my world and income for the last 5yrs. How can I give this up? This was a bittersweet, hard as hell, yet easy decision to make. Easy because I knew deep down I can’t keep spinning. I let go of the pressure to keep up. I allowed myself to be enough to make this decision. I am the only one that can give myself the space to take care of me. We have to give ourselves the space. We gotta dig and fight for it, then jump when we see a hint of it. This took me years. I think it’s actually the first time in a long time I did something, solely, just for me.
Now the real work begins.
I am ready to fill up with all the things that fill me up, but this time with a commitment to be just a little bit more mindful in the process. The thing I realized here is that I have been doing all of these things but I was flying through them. Enjoying the quick instant joy but not carrying it through and not always being fully present for it. I was worried about what I had to do next, and then after that, and after that.
This is going to take work and, a lot of it, but I want it.
Now what does self care look like to me? Today it looks like a second cup of coffee and closing my computer for 15 minutes before I pick up my son so I can drink it hot and savor the shit out of it!
We deserve the space.
Love, Cakes
