Self-care all weekend long

Not to steal anything from Buddhism, although I wonder just how many realizations and learnings can actually be stolen from a religion that emphasizes indicidual realizations, awakening and see Reality. You become a Buddha when you achieve your realizations and recognition of Reality without teaching.

Whatever. It’s simply too much for me to absorb on a weekend.

I’m making this weekend a self-care weekend. After hearing other bloggers and reading this article, I realized that I could choose to make almost everything in my day be an act of self-care. In the same way that no mysterious, ideal lover will come along and rescue you, no one will heal you from your ED or grow you into Intuitive Eating, except for you.

Part of that recovery and growth includes becoming better at self-care, so I’m practicing good self-care this weekend. I’m trying to make every moment have an element of self-care to it.

There’s self-care in defrosting the freezer, because it holds my own stash of ice cubes, so precious and rare in Germany. I still remember Christa, who was one of the first Germans we visited after we moved here. We had just made a 3 hour drive in August, and arrived at her house miserably hot and sweaty. I knew that Germans didn’t use ice cubes, so I was prepared for the worst. She carried out a huge pitcher of ICE water, and it was glorious.

There’s self-care in stopping and recognizing how nice it was to meet her, and have positive experiences like that.

There’s self-care in knowing that my DH finally accepted that he could “allow’ himself financially to buy a new laptop, and ordered it. I see that he honored his needs, and I helped him see it in a loving, not nagging way.

There’s self-care in sleeping late, in staying away from shopping, in choosing to not worry over work that’s not done.

There’s self-care in choosing to do my work in a way that gives me pleasure, even though some might not think that it’s the best way to do the job.

There’s self-care in wearing my favorite lounge pants, in sorting material for my crazy quilt, in making my own pudding from scratch.

There’s self-care in a weekend of nesting, in cuddling with DH as we slept late, in thanking him for the chores he’s done.

There’s self-care in choosing to look at every task in a loving, renewing way.

There’s self-care in washing my espresso cup by hand, so it’s always ready, in keeping the dishwasher empty so dirty dishes don’t stay on the counter, in putting my dirty laundry in the basket.

There’s self-care in breathing slowly, in and out, in resting in silence, in feeling peace.