the decision to pause...
"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." ~Benjamin Franklin
I woke up this morning to a ridiculous pain in the neck- not my alarm, but an actual pain that's had me wincing all day. I can't turn my head to the right or look up. I must have done some crazy acrobatics in my sleep last night. A day of first graders tugging on my arms (oh, the pre-Halloween excitement) and a dive into the bushes to save Banjo from a possum (or the other way around) didn't help matters.
My dear friend is coming to visit on Thursday and I have quite a bit to do. My initial instinct earlier today was to push through the pain and just work harder to catch up. This is my M.O.: push through the pain, the stress, the overwhelm, the exhaustion. Get it all done, despite the signals my body is giving me. When will I learn? We can't give our best if we wear ourselves down. It's vital not to let our wells run dry! Self care is listening to your body and spirit, knowing when to take a step back, to nurture and let heal that which feels broken or imbalanced. Tonight for me it means the laundry and cleaning can wait. It means alternating hot and cold while petting my possum attack dog and contemplating what other parts of me could use some self care. For some of us (ahem...yours truly) it takes dipping into the well and pulling up an empty bucket to realize the value of proactive, not reactive, self care. It's been a tough lesson for me. I am my own pain in the neck.
Please don't worry about cleaning and all of that pre-visit stuff! I spend my summers with 4 dogs (now only 3 but still) and 3 kids of my own not to mention random visits by an going flow of cousins, Uncles (they have one that is their age..go father-in law) and kids that belong to our friends. This has taught me to be tolerant of clutter, unopposed to using paper and plastic dish wear and after my wonderful injury at the end of this summer understanding that as long as you have clean undies the laundry can wait even if it is knee deep in the laundry room.
ReplyDeletePlease don't make a fuss over my visit. A very wise and albeit slightly crazy woman (my gramma) told me once that your true friends don't care if you have dust bunnies under the couch and dirty dishes in the sink. If they are real friends they will help you wash the dishes and name the dust bunnies!
Can't wait to see you!