THANK YOU, JENNY...

A little while ago I made my daily stop to read and maybe even "chat" at the wonderful "Jenny of Elefantz" blog.  Visiting Jenny's blog is like stepping through the door of a dear friend's home.  Her blog is warm and inviting; and Jenny is honest, caring, thoughtful, prayerful and incredibly insightful.  Without even knowing it, today I was deeply in need of her wisdom.

Jenny's blog post was all about "self care"...remembering to restore and replenish ourselves in the midst of our overly hectic lives.  I think, as women, we are almost "programmed" to think of others, especially those we love, before we think of ourselves.  As my doctor reminded me recently, "In an air disaster, you put on your own oxygen mask before you help anyone else put on theirs.  Only if you are breathing can you help them."  Oh boy am I lacking in that department! 

I have been trying to take a bit more care of my physical and emotional needs recently, but it seems like my "care" isn't keeping up with my "need".   Jenny was taking time to center and really "feel" her body condition...feeling the aches, pains and exhaustion.  Wow.  Taking time to sit and "feel"?  Most of us have become so used to pushing through those signals or totally trying to "forget" the pain we feel, that we neglect to heed their warnings...advising us to stop, feel, nurture, replenish and repair our bodies.  When you are someone with a chronic illness, particularly chronic pain, you spend all of your energy and thoughts fighting to ignore those signals...to live a normal life in an "abnormal" body.  Blocking those messages is necessary to keep going.  It sure isn't easy.  But, even though pushing through is a daily necessity, it doesn't mean we should ignore the signals completely.  There is housekeeping our bodies need...in sickness even moreso than in health.

So, following Jenny's lead, I decided to brew myself a pot of my favorite "pampering" tea (something I haven't done in AGES), fill my aromatherapy diffuser with calming essential oils and slather my dry/cracked hands with antioxidant moisturizing lotion.  I felt so pampered and loved.  I had forgotten how it feels to love ME, too!  Everything I did was about taking care of me...my heart, body, mind and soul.  I wanted, no needed,  to feel it all...the creaminess of the lotion as I massaged it into my hands, the smoothness of the ceramic teacup, the delicious tones of Earl Grey as the tea caressed my throat, the warmth as it traveled from lips to tummy.  How many times have we chugged down our morning or evening "brew" without even tasting it...let alone enjoying it?  So many wasted experiences!  I breathed deeply as the essential oils filled the room.  I had tried a new blend when my lavender ran dry.  I have no idea what particular oils were contained in the blend, but I was immediately transported back to grade school.  I breathed more deeply, straining to inhale more of the familiar scent.  They say scent triggers our strongest memories. 

By the time my cup was empty, my body was relaxed and my mind was traveling back to memories of childhood...good times, good friends, carefree days of laughter and love.  Thank you, Jenny, for pointing me in the right direction.  From the comments on your blog it seems like we all need a bit of a reminder from time to time.  I've even set up a little table in my new sewing room,  stocked with  my teapot for one and favorite teas.  Hopefully, seeing it every day will remind me to slow down every once in a while...and breathe.