Being kind to ourselves.

A few weeks ago, I read a great post on Mary's blog titled "How I Take Care of Myself," inspired by a post of the same name on Meg's blog. This is a subject that's been on my mind a lot of late, as I--like most of us--seem to always be rushing, live on my cell phone and computer, and beat myself up and worry over things that really don't deserve the time of day or emotional investment.

So I decided to make a list of the things that I do—sometimes subconsciously—to take care of myself. Here it is—reading over it now, I can't help but smile, because all the things on it make me genuinely happy. And in the meantime, here's to slowing down and taking care of ourselves.


How I Take Care of Myself

+ Morning matcha lattes.
+ Sleeping in whenever possible.
+ Surrounding myself with amazingly smart, warm, kind people.
+ Long talks with ACS. (And ACS in general.)
+ Wine.
+ Buying new books and magazines (and reading them!).
+ Alone time.
+ Rosebud Salve lip balm (prettiest container).
+ Yoga and pilates (I always think of them as  doing something gentle for myself).
+ Seeing movies, with others and by myself.
+ Writing in my worry journal.
+ Writing in general.
+ Seeking out/being open to new opportunities.
+ Drinking tons of water.
+ Singing at the top of my lungs in the car.
+ Bridge walks.
+ Playing with my cats.
+ Copious amounts of green tea throughout the day.
+ Therapy.
+ Cooking dinner for myself instead of picking it up from a restaurant or drive-through.
+ Living in the marshmallow.
+ Replacing words in songs with Oscar and Zadie's names and laughing hysterically about it.
+ Afternoon walks around Burns Court with Coworker Hannah.
+ Bags of fresh veggies from the farmer's market; fancy honey from the cheese shop.
+ A big cup of decaf black tea before bed.
+ Weekly flowers.
+ Lighting candles that make the house smell lovely.
+ Spin class.
+ Binging on Nora Ephron movies.
+ Honesty (with myself and others).
+ New music.
+ New plants.
+ New clothes. (Just saying.)
+ Fancy face wash and shampoo.
+ Bright lipstick (an instant mood-booster).
+ Doing the dishes every night (makes for a much calmer mind the next morning, I find).
+ Baking for the sake of baking.
+ Bear hugs.
+ Letting Zadie sleep by my head at night (because waking up to her little face is really, really cute and I can never help but smile).
+ Laughing as often as possible.
+ Watching the sun set over the ocean.
+ Talking to my mom most days of the week.

Photo: My favorite, favorite quote in all the world (background here) by Oh My Deer for Pennyweight