Taking Time for Myself

I'm terrible about taking time for myself. In fact, I'm so terrible at it that my stress often builds up so that I begin to have lower back pain, knots in the muscles of my upper back and headaches. Since the first part of this year has been so stressful, I'm looking for ways to slow down and relax. This morning, in particular, has been particularly trying. For the second time just this week, my mother's care giver hasn't shown up, resulting in a firing (actually two) by the company that provides the service. That also means that I haven't gotten anything near what I need to get done for my job so I'll be working very late again tonight. On top of that, my brother is working on my father's estate as well as getting Mom ready to go into assisted living. We found a wonderful place and Mom is excited about going there. She will still have her aid and as we toured the facility yesterday, Mom began to make friends so we have no concerns about her!

My life has been a bit more complicated and I can now see why people have been reminding me that I need to take care of myself. As I left the house for a scheduled doctor's appointment, I felt like my head would explode due to the stress. I'm one of those people who have a high tolerance for pain and stress but today it has been too much. After the appointment, I went to one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants that has WiFi, opened my laptop and iPad, and went to work! In fact, that's where I am as I'm writing this post. Stress has melted out of me because of not being at home (where my office is located) and I feel so much better. With an unsweetened iced tea, a laptop and a cell phone, I feel like I can accomplish anything!!!

I've also started to try to get back to normal as much as possible. Although I am far from getting into my routine, I've had a few bubble baths, had a deep tissue massage (OUCH!!!), formulated  a few beauty items (shampoo, conditioner, lip balm and cuticle cream), gotten on the floor to play with my dogs Bentley and Bailey and had a few long chats with my husband. Sooner or later, the brain fog will clear and I'll feel less frantic. Life will get back to normal and I'll revisit the projects that sat unfinished before I left for Florida. I'll never stop missing my Dad but I know I will feel better soon and will be able to reflect on what he has meant to me and how he will continue to influence my life.