Feed Me

I'm sitting here looking at my nails as I type (for a living) - and I've realized I have seriously been neglecting Me. Yes, I've brushed my teeth, washed my hair, put on my make-up and all that. But it's been a while since I really looked after Me.

Why?

Well time is one thing. When you leave for work in the dark an hour after the alarm frightens you awake (having organized a reluctant kid and launched him schoolwards), then arrive home at 5 to do all the things that a home / son requires, there's not that much time to indulge in self.

Add in a truck that HAS to be fixed to replace the car sitting broken in the drive, and my focus has ended up far away from myself. I spent the entire weekend in mechanic-friendly jeans and t-shirts, my old takkies, comfortable but unfashionable fleece top... and not a stitch of make-up on. If my face saw moisturizer it was a miracle, never mind anything else. The nails got their usual car-grease treatment, along with a rip here and a stub there - at the moment they're cut, trimmed - but not fancy. No nailpolish, just functional. I ditched a salon appointment this weekend thanks to lack of transport. I didn't get much time to sit down and relax either.

Then - along with no time and necessary schedule rearrangement - throw in a priorities shift. I've been focussed on a couple of things lately that take up my time, attention, concentration, head-space once I'm home. There's plans and schemes to work through, things to talk about, and I tend to spend most of the evening on both phone and computer. Topping up on a voice that makes me happy and emptying a brain that needs to spill ideas somewhere.

But it's all about balance. And last night I found myself sitting on Olivia's wing, pondering the sunset as the clouds turned golden. In peace and quiet - just a spot of me-time. Because I really needed it.

So I've decided thus: I'm going to budget my me-time like I do everything else. Give it a daily slot, along with the other things I fit into my 24 hours. Totally shift focus for that small period and feed my soul, care for my exterior, and breathe deeply.

I have a feeling I'll be a lot better off for it, able to handle life with increased grace and certainty. Or at least that's the idea. :-)