10 Simple Self-Care Routines to Make it Through The Year

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A Long Road to……Something?

I’ve started marking the passage of time with my little Sunday through Saturday pill box. It holds a few meds and supplements and is basically the only way I know if I remembered to take them. But lately, each week when I open the Thursday slot, all I can think is “Shit. Another week almost over, and it was just like last week.” Nothing happened. Nothing much to look forward to.

Like many, the pandemic has put my life on pause. It’s paused goals, plans, travel, and most things I usually look forward to. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s this creeping, yet stark, feeling that seems to call my entire existence into question. I can’t tell if something happened last week or 3 months ago. It’s like Ground Hog Day on steroids. So no, I have no idea where the year has gone.

As the World Turns

When the pandemic began, it was still winter in Colorado. During our state’s lockdown, I watched the snow melt, and brown slowly turn to green. As it moved into summer, we were hammered with record setting highs. Now, with fall in full swing, the leaves are tipping to reds and golds. Holiday decorations are going up. And yet, every week still feels the same.

Soon it will be brown again and snow will begin to fall, at least for me. Outdoor visits will become difficult to impossible. The earth will continue to turn on its axis, as one day quickly leads to the next.

10 Simple Self-Care Routines to Make it Through 2020

I don’t have a crystal ball into when the pandemic might end, or how to make the passage of time be more meaningful, but I’m looking into it. In the meantime, I keep looking for simple self-care routines to improve my week, or someone else’s. I at least hope they help me remember what day it is.

1.     Talk to friends and family, don’t just text. Voice calls, zoom calls, Facetime. Whatever you have.

2.     Leave the house. You don’t have to be with people. Just driving around can remind us there’s still a whole world out there.

3.     Send physical letters or cards. Yes, it’s a throwback, but wouldn’t it brighten someone’s day to receive a personal note?

4.     Put up holiday decorations. Even if you’re a household of one, embodying a little holiday spirit might lift your own.

5.     Redecorate. It might just be a new bedspread, or a picture. New coffee mugs count.

6.     Read a good book. Or even a bad one.

7.     Don’t focus on your waistline! Now is not the time to put extra stress on yourself.

8.     Have that glass of wine or yummy cocktail. Who’s counting? No one, that’s who.   

9.     Make your own spa day: a face or foot mask, a bath bomb, incense, yoga. Maybe followed by Netfilx under a cozy throw.

10.  Light a candle to keep out the darkness. Then make a wish.

What are some of your favorite ways to release the insanity?

In Search of Meaning

Tennis Anyone?

Does the word “Hobby” just piss you off? It does me. It may be a throwback to my budding feminist youth, when hobbies were activities for genteel women. Activities that were seen as unimportant because they didn’t generate income. Sewing. Canning. Quilting. Tennis. If a man had a hobby, it was usually collecting something. Building something, Restoring something. Golf.

I cringe when I read articles that suggest women, particularly aging women, “get a hobby.” For whatever strange animosity I hold toward the phrase, I feel we all, regardless of age, want to feel seen. We long to add meaning to our lives, and perhaps leave our mark behind. Am I wrong?

Pursuing Our Passions

I like to think that as we age, we move from our soul sucking day jobs, the never-ending household chores, the always taking care of others ­– to nobler pursuits. You may be starting a business for the first time. Or creating additional income streams to supplement your retirement fund. If you even have a retirement fund.

Maybe you finally have the time to pursue your creative endeavors? Your art. Your writing. Your craft or handiwork. Maybe you always wanted to knit a sweater but never had the time. Maybe you want to can peaches. Regardless of whether your passion is money making, or satisfies an itch down deep in your soul, I don’t think the word “hobby” begins to do it justice.

Answering Your Call

We all have a calling, however big or small. It’s a deep desire – whether world altering or profoundly self-satisfying. Our dreams and desires are ours, to do with as we please. Valid and meaningful, regardless of scope.

 Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think of my deepest passions, or even my most frivolous past times, as hobbies. Every minute of every day is another chance to embody our truest selves. To pursue our dreams until the cows come home. No judgement. No wrong choices. You get to do You.

 What are your noble pursuits?

Being in the Moment: A September Walk

Is Fall Near?

September greeted me this morning with cool air. I was shocked when my weather app told me it was 48 degrees. After checking to make sure it wasn’t accidentally set to Celsius, I stumbled out of bed. looking forward to coffee and a morning walk. This was a stark contrast to recent weeks when it was impossible to get up early enough to miss the heat or the air filled with smoke from summer fires.

In Colorado, the weather tends to extremes. If we’re lucky, we have a few weeks of Fall and Spring. Then it’s either freezing or in the 90’s. I exaggerate, sure. But this is what it feels like. Ask anyone.

The Grass is Always Greener

It doesn’t help that I hate the heat. For the past 15 years I’ve wanted nothing more than to live in Scotland. Or Canada. Or someplace that isn’t here. Somewhere the summer highs never surpass 70. Someplace devoid of US politics and the growing meanness spawned by privilege and lack of knowledge. But I digress.

 But it turns out the downside of always wanting something else is you don’t tend to appreciate what you have.

A Zen Moment

So, this morning I walked my neighborhood. The sidewalks usually host a few dog walkers or quarantine crazed stroller pushers but, today, only silence. Except for the distant road traffic, I was only aware of the cool breeze in my face and the taste of black coffee in my mouth. It was a perfect moment.

Five Easy(ish) Ways to Be in the Moment

I admit, I haven’t taken mindfulness courses or listened to YouTubers talk about it. I do meditate on occasion, and I always intend to get back to a Yoga practice, though I usually find excuses to procrastinate. But after years of struggling to be in the moment, here’s what I do know.  

1.     Get rid of the should’s. When our minds are on everything we should be doing instead of being in the moment, the moments pass us by. As resident Queen of the shoulds, I should know.

2.     Slow down. Smell the roses? Or the coffee? Whatever cliché floats your boat. Just. Slow. Down. Take a deep breath. Anything can wait for at least. A. Moment.

3.     Look around. Where are you? What are you feeling? What does your body feel like? In this age of constant distractions, how much attention do you actually give yourself?

4.     Listen to your heart. When was the last time you felt your heart energy? Our heads tend to take over and tell us what we should do. How we should feel. What we should want. But it’s a fraud, ‘cause it doesn’t really know what we want. Only our heart knows.

5.     Breathe. I sometimes forget to breathe, do you? Being conscious of our breath helps to center us, so we can hear what our heart wants. Breath deep. Breathe often.

It sounds simple, but in our quick paced reality, filled with more sensory input than a human can handle, being with ourselves, in the moment, and allowing ourselves to “feel,” requires conscious thought and effort for most of us. I know it doesn’t come naturally for me.