Savoring Those Final Summer Days ~ Practicing Self Care
/I AM REPOSTING THIS BLOG POST BECAUSE IT HAS MESSAGES FOR ME THAT I NEEDED TO REMEMBER.
Why do we rush the seasons?
Am I wrong when I remember that seasons during my childhood were more clearly defined?
These days, children go back to school in August while we didn't go back to school until
after Labor Day.
While the summer flowers are blooming, the grocery stores start selling mums.
Starbucks starts selling lattes flavored with pumpkin before I'm ready to think of fall.
The Halloween displays come out in August.
The retail stores must hurry with these displays because soon we will see Christmas displays.
The autumnal equinox arrives at 3:50 EDT on September 23, 2019.
Until then, it is technically still summer.
That means:
for me
the sandals can still be worn, weather permitting,
as can the sun dresses,
the shorts,
the cropped pants.
I've put away the white pants and the white shoes.
This is reflection of those rules of proper seasonal attire that are deeply ingrained in my head:
no white shoes or pants should be worn
before Memorial Day
or after Labor Day.
Until September 23, it is still summer in my world.
I'm not ready to move into fall yet.
My mind and my body just aren't ready to make that transition.
Yes, just as I wrote in my last blog post, I am still on the cusp of autumn.
Cusp
[kuhsp]
noun
a
point
that
marks
the
beginning
of
a
change
a point of transition: turning point, edge, verge
Don't rush me.
I'm not ready to make the transition.
I do admit that transitions are difficult for me.
Recently, a dear friend asked me an important question,
"What are you doing to prepare for the fall and winter days that are coming?"
Has she been reading my mind?
Actually, I've been giving this topic a lot of thought.
I know myself well enough to know that I must prepare for the coming days when I can't enjoy the green grass, the leafy trees, and the beautiful flowers of summer.
I must plan for those days when I feel housebound.
Those days when the snow flies, the wind blows, and the roads are covered with ice are not days that I particularly enjoy.
What am I doing to make the transition into the seasons that are coming?
This is what I am doing:
I am hanging on to summer as long as I can!
Intentional self-care does not come naturally to me.
Summer is a time when I find it easier to adopt healthier habits.
Do you find that is true?
Here are some things I'm doing to help me transition from summer into fall in a healthy way.
Mental/Emotional Self-Care
Photographs of a favorite summertime vignette are captured to remind the heart during the dark days that no doubt will come in the following months that summer will again make its appearance.
Journaling is important part of maintaining my emotional and mental health.
I love to journal on the back deck in the summer.
I love to see shadows of leaves across the page as I write.
I always miss my outdoor writing times when summer is over.
Physical Self-Care
This season, the one we are still in, is a great time to try and get in shape.
I'm exercising outside as much as I can.
We live in the most wonderful area for walking.
See what I'm talking about.
Here is a wonderful example of the
hoodoo
rocks or
mushroom
rocks that crop up all over my neighborhood.
I never tire of looking at these beautiful rocks.
Look at the interesting shapes and textures.
Don't you just love my
hoodoos?
Here is an example of another
hoodoo
in my area.
Notice how the colors in the formation are different from the colors in the example above.
I love this rock.
I call her my "Cat Rock."
I like to think she keeps a protective eye on our neighborhood.
Besides walking, as a preparation for when I can no longer exercise outside,
I am trying to get in the habit of making it to the club more often.
The old hip is acting up, so I have traded Zumba Gold for water exercise.
Last week I tried Aqua Zumba.
What fun!
After class, dripping wet, I decided to dry off by lounging outside in the sun.
As a nod to those days when I was a sun worshiper,
I actually spent ten or fifteen minutes just soaking up the bright sunshine before I had to make a hasty retreat to the shade.
This is another way I am preparing for the cooler days ahead.
I am soaking up as much sun as I can while I can.
I'm also looking after my past medical issues.
I just had the five month check on my pacemaker.
My life is greatly improved since that little device was implanted in my body.
According to the last check, I have ten years left on the battery, and
I'm using it 75% of the time.
I had no events of AFib in the last two months.
Technology is wonderful.
That little device helped to make my summer a great one.
Lifestyle
I truly am trying to establish a schedule.
I do better when I have to live by the bell.
Teaching schedules gave me that discipline.
I struggle to adopt my own schedule when one is not established for me.
It has been an even larger challenge to learn to adopt a schedule
now that my husband is working retail.
Some of you may remember that my husband, after working in education for forty-two years,
decided to begin a new career by working for Apple.
He loves his job, and his job is good for him, so I am trying to adjust to a schedule that changes
day by day.
Some days he works days.
Others he works nights.
I find it nearly impossible to establish regular times for the daily tasks of living.
Since I need a time schedule that is fairly routine,
I'm still working on finding balance in this area of my life.
In the meantime,
Boston and I mark time while he is gone by walking together in the evening,
or I read or write with Boston at my feet.
Make no assumptions that I have become the number one person in Boston's life;
he still won't eat while his master is gone,
and when his master comes home there is a love fest that takes place between these two.
I'm learning lessons from my husband during this season.
Fulfilling work remains important even during the retirement years.
As I leave summer, I am pondering this life lesson.
Spiritual Self-Care
One of the greatest blessing of the past year has been the time I have spent with a very special group of ladies from my church.
We call ourselves Monica Moms.
St. Augustine's mother was named Monica.
That is where the name for our group comes from.
We pray for our children as she prayed for her son.
Every other Wednesday, we meet for two or three hours to lift up our adult children in prayer.
The time I spend with these women in prayer are times I will forever treasure.
I'm blessed to have a mother who prays for me.
Just recently, I called her and when she answered the phone, she said,
"I was just praying for you."
She is nearly 100 years old, but she continues to pray for me.
I hope to have many more summers to pray for my children.
I rest in the assurance that those prayers will forever be found at the Throne of Grace.
People Support
Summer is a perfect time for lunch with friends.
I've enjoyed many long lunches with great friends this summer.
I'm ending off the summer by going on a three day trip with my high school girl friends.
It is our big 70th birthday bash!
We have talked about and planned this trip for years.
We wanted to enter the seventh decade of our lives in a big way.
We are going on our "senior trip."
Watch out.
The Girls of '63 are heading to Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
So, during these last days summer,
I'll be off traveling.
First,
I'm getting on a train with a bunch of the girls.
That alone will be a great adventure.
Once we all arrive at our destination,
we have three days of a very full agenda planned.
I think I'm capping off the summer of 2015 in grand style.
I AM THINKING ABOUT THE LESSONS FROM 2015 THAT I WROTE TO MYSELF. MANY, IF NOT ALL OF THE LESSONS STILL APPLY.
HOW ARE YOU CURRENTLY PRACTICING SELF-CARE AS WE MOVE FROM ONE SEASON TO THE NEXT?
Enjoy the final days of summer.
