When I think about growing up or my childhood, the best parts include the times I had the ability to do things that I felt gave me extra freedom or responsibility. Continue reading
Made in the Shade
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Category Archives: Self Love
Lazy Summer Days
I enjoyed being a kid. I was adventurous and loved to explore new things. One of my favorite things I remember as a kid was the lazy summer days. In my day we didn’t have all the activities that kids today seem to be involved in. My summers were my favorite time of the year. It meant jumping out of bed, pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, grabbing a bowl of fresh raspberries from the garden, and on to my friend’s house. Continue reading
Not Grown Up Yet
I remember bits and pieces of being a child and I often wanted more. I wanted to stay up late like the grown-ups. I wanted to decide what I would eat for dinner and what to buy at the grocery store.
It seemed like all the big decisions were made by the adults. Continue reading
Too Little, Too Late
What is happening? To my body that is!! When I was a young teenager I was really skinny. I even went to the doctor to find out why I wasn’t gaining weight. He prescribed some pills. They were probably sugar pills for all I know, but they didn’t work. Continue reading
Cover That Hoo-ha
I’m sitting on a sandy beach towel. It’s the summer of 1978 and I coyly look toward the camera. Although my pose looks comfortable, I am inwardly hesitant and unsure. I feel like my swimsuit is comfortable and fits me. The blue is slimming on my hips and the bold white and pink chevron draws the eyes up. My feminine asserts…my boobs were the focus. But even with this beautiful body in a gorgeous, flattering suit…I feel self-conscious. Continue reading
Little Red Swimsuit
My body used to think the only piece of clothing I owned was a swimsuit. I worked at the YMCA as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. My “uniform” was a red one-piece swimsuit covered by my red YMCA jacket. When I wasn’t wearing my work suit, I was wearing a bikini, or a two-piece suit and sailing or water skiing on Beaver Dam Lake. I always felt proud of the way I filled out my suit. Continue reading
A Lifetime of Weight Concerns
Growing up I was always thinking about my weight. I was never happy with what I looked like. As a young child, I was painfully aware that I was so thin. The veins were so close to the surface of the skin that my chest appeared purple. Because of this, I would never wear anything with a V-neck or a low collar to hide this fact. Continue reading
Can Netflix Binging be Considered Self-Care?
I’ve never really thought much about self-care until recently. Previously, I feel like I just did certain things because I liked them. Now, I try to more consciously perform some self-care. Here is a list of the items I’m currently doing to take care of myself. Continue reading
Drunk on the Beach
Self-care is actually a way of life for me. I tend to do the things I like even when there are many things on my agenda that I put off as I don’t enjoy them. So, while looking over the list of topics that I have written down that is my self-care I feel that I mostly do self-care on a regular basis. Continue reading
Hippy Dippy vs Healthy and Grounded
How do you “self-care”?
Well, the first thing you need to know is “What IS self-care anyway? According to the Googles, it is “doing something that helps your body, mind or soul feel good”.
Hippy Dippy
Oh god, this brings up visions of a bubble bath in a claw-footed tub, a meditation on an Indian-patterned pillow in a sunlit studio, yoga on an open patio overlooking the ocean, and long walks in an old-growth forest. So hippy-dippy, so self-indulgent and unrealistic.
Now, the other day, I was walking on a cool morning along a country road. The road was lined with dandelions. Millions and billions of dandelions. I know Evie and Stella (my Golden Retriever walking companions) thought I was crazy as I slowed down and began to take pictures. Then I reached down to one random flower/weed and plucked it. And you know what we used to do as kids? We would rub the flower under our chin and ask…”Do I like butter?”
If there was yellow pollen on your neck, you did. Continue reading
