Self Care

Self Care and Other Things that Start with S

It seems like I rip off the pages of my daily calendar at an alarmingly rate. It is already March. Days continue to turn into night, and the sun returns with a beckoning whisper of new hope. New beginnings. New identities starting to form. March is the whisper gently saying, “you’ve almost made it!” You can start thinking about bravely poking your new shoots through the dirt and soil that has kept you safe, and well, frozen. Let the sun thaw you into something green.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase, “refiner’s fire” mentioned in the Bible. How God takes all those gnarly parts of who you are no longer meant to be, and literally burns them away. The burning is a painful process, right, but beauty remains. I was talking with my mom about change and she reminded me that every cell in your body replenishes itself at least once a year, of course, if not more. Every single cell that makes up who you are in the world dies and begins again to allow for growth. How do you die and begin again? Is it a choice for a new habit to form, a new friendship to take root, a new place of being to spend your days? I’m going through some changes, and I will have a full update soon, but for now, am thinking of the refining process and allowing myself to celebrate amidst those fiery flames that lead to new, great and wonderful ways of experiencing our world.

So, here are some things that I consider to be my self-care lately. Judge as you may – the way we spend our time is often up for scrutiny isn’t it?

Sushi – There is a great restaurant in Boulder that Dylan and I often frequent for a splurge night out. Hapa Sushi is delicious, adventurous, and sparks the senses. I fear my tastes in sushi may be evolving. We wanted the fancier, more delicate rolls that are crafted with an immense amount of intentional flavor blending built in. I drove down to Boulder Friday night, and we thoroughly enjoyed a culinary experience. We talked, really talked, about our hopes and our perceptions of where we are at in this stage of life. Quality time and beautifully crafted raw fish made my heart happy.

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Scrapbooking – When I was a junior and senior in high school, I participated in the International Baccalaureate program. It’s a wonder I graduated. I still can’t spell that word without the help of spell check. Can I get an I.B. holler? One of my higher level classes was HL Art. In our creation of our pieces it was a primary responsibility to maintain a research workbook. Ah, the dreaded research workbook. We were supposed to document and identify every stage of the creative process for our artistic inspiration. This included pictures, techniques, supplies, articles and insights that led us to our finalized masterpiece. The books were a lot of work to maintain. I, being a collage creator and journaling documenter, loved this homework and have adapted the research workbook style of documentation into my life. That, and my love for rubrics, but that is something different altogether. I glue things into my personal journal, draw, sketch, capture readings and words that bring me up to speed with who I am today.

So, after our honeymoon and the realization that we took over 400 photos, I had the idea to create a research workbook style scrapbook that would document the start of our official “us-ness”. This weekend, Dylan was brewing beer and I got to work organizing our photos and our memorabilia from our trip, and set to work to craft our story of how our marriage started out. All I could think of was my professor in college who taught my “Families in Society” class as she repeatedly said, “Women are primarily responsible for the documentation of family history. This involves Christmas Cards, scrapbooks, kid’s memories boxes.” Well yes, Professor, I’m taking on this work diligently. This project is going to take me longer than I originally anticipated, but it’s off to a great start. I think my forearms are actually sore from using the glue stick and my fancy paper cutter. Sore. I know, it’s pathetic. There is beauty in documenting my life, and in my efforts to do so creatively.

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Snow Shoes – Sierra Trading Post was having a sale so I bought some new snow shoes. I’ve only ever tried this hobby once, borrowing the much needed gear from a co-worker. In efforts to invest in new interests, I now have my very own pair. They are pink, and they have stars on the bottom. They are fabulously girly. They also give me reason to desire the snow, and I hope that I can have a few adventures tromping around in that white powder before it melts for the year. Cheers to the beauty in trying new things, in investing in interests that will allow you to expand, and to pink! If you want to go on a snow shoeing adventure, please, please invite me along!

Books – Beautiful, Beautiful Books – I continue to read, and love my time with words on tangible pages. I just finished “Yes, Chef”, by Marcus Samuelsson, and was tantalized with his way of mixing our connections to food and culture to his own story. I’ve got a stack of new books on my coffee table and I just scheduled a “Book Swap” party with some of my favorite women in town. Stories are important. We need to document them and we need to explore them. At least, I do.

As winter begins to thaw into spring, where are you growing? What are you doing for self-care and how are your very cells regenerating into something new? Do you find the process to be beautiful, or painful, or both?

Biscotti Update – replaced with Banana Bread this week. Use half the amount of allocated sugar, and add chocolate chips

Essie: They just release their spring collection. I’ve got to go check it out

The Four Agreements

The 4 AgreementsI was given a gift this week, once again, in an unusual format. Sitting in staff meeting on a Monday morning is usually not people’s favorite place to be. I would say for me, its manageable, but you know, sometimes, it’s just something you want to check off your list. This week, we had a guest speaker, which is pretty common for us as we collaborate with many business partners, agencies, schools, supporters. I was hunkered down, listening, but admittedly, thinking about a few other things that have been on my mind.

But this gentleman, he caught my attention, and as he spoke about his experience working with at-risk youth in prisons, in rehab, in places where kids are deemed unworthy, casts off, trash, I put away my notebook, and fully tuned in to what he had to say. This guy exudes authenticity, real personable skills, and began his presentation with the genuine desire to help others. He said he approaches his helping work with the premise that he does this work for a reason;  ” ‘It’s not because I am better than you, but I am older and have a lifetime of experience.’ I was speaking from my gut, not trying to be tough or be anything but my own true self.” Ahhhh, how refreshing. Isn’t this all what we are trying to do – well maybe not all of us – but come on, when the mess of daily life boils down to our true selves, we just want to help and share our experiences, and our wisdom. I would argue very few people approach their work with I’m better than you so listen up. None of us respond to that kind of false, unearned trust or authority. I don’t know this presenter guy, but I think I love his approach already. I want to know more, learn more, and pass on what he has to say.

He passed out a hand out called The 4 Agreements – see above – and I have literally put them next to my bed. Each statement, each affirmation, is something that can help me get through the day – help us all get through the day. I think the one that I have been working on all year – at work, with wedding planning, with my family, with my friends and my therapist – is the ” When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t need to be the victim of needless suffering.” Thank you universe, for bringing that message round again. I love it – it makes me giddy and unbelievably calm, because while each of those statements are hard to live by every day, they carry such buoyant truth. Context, in this situation, isn’t important to me because these transcend those thoughts and apply to so many situations in my life. Be me, be Katie, don’t absorb other’s drama, seek my own truth, and take care of myself. Easy on paper, hard in practice, but that’s why I’ve put them above my side of the bed.

This week too I found simple pleasure in going to look at flowers for the wedding. Whole sale flower markets are really interesting and the textures and colors and potential of fun little tokens of promise for the wedding were fun to look at. And it’s freezing. They keep those coolers COLD – my teeth were chattering and I wanted to make quick decisions, and my recommendations were voiced by the stacks and stacks of vases while my arms thawed. Dylan’s mom and his aunts came with us and what a blessing it is that his aunt is going to do the flowers for us. I got so lucky that so many members of my family are lending a hand and making our day special with their own contributions.

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And I tried a new brussels sprouts recipe and devoured them at a restaurant when I got to go on an impromptu lunch with my mom on Friday afternoon. Isn’t it interesting how those little cabbages are making such a resurgence? I love the metaphor that these little veggies present. Something that has been written off for years, by children and adults since probably the 1960s have made the trendiest come back and now we pay $5 for a small bowl as an appetizer – brussels sprouts glazed in orange sauce (I highly recommend them at Restaurant 415 in Fort Collins) – or I try roasting them at home with cranberries and feta. Click here for the recipe. Don’t sell yourself short, you never know what you will find yourself loving years down the road that perhaps you hated for quite some time.

So which of The 4 Agreements stand out to you? How can you apply them to your life? Would you eat brussels sprouts with me if we sat down and had a chat about how we try to live authentically?

 

For more information about our guest speaker, Steve and his business Teach Authentic visit his website