Self-care Saturdays. Or. The Simple Pleasure of Breakfast, Walking, and Drugstore Hair Dye.

Yesterday was the advent of a calendar of solitary summer Saturdays. Heather is taking a class at New England School of Photography for the next 8 weeks of so and we're going to be adapting our weekends to compensate.

I still have to figure out all the details of my schedule adaptation, but I'll resolve that soon enough. My job and I have differing opinions. Go figure.

Due to life and circumstance, I've been feeling powerless over the past few weeks. Powerless and tired. Last weekend the confluence of those two energies led to a weekend at home with lots of sleeping and yoga, which was a great strategy. But, I can't sleep my weekends away every week- even if I'm having more sleepless nights during the week.

So, this weekend I strategized a Saturday of self-care and a Sunday of wife-time. I'd also planned to flex my work time (working a few 13 hour days...) and take Monday off for gardening, but work decided on the contrary and I'll be in the office tomorrow. I'm taking Friday instead.

I asked Heather to wake me up yesterday morning for yoga (7:30am flow) before taking the dog out and dropping H. off at school. I then headed into Jamaica Plain where I treated myself to a vegetarian egg sandwich at City Feed (they are so yummy) while reading this week's Bay Windows and the great news about New York! I then headed to Boomerangs to donate the bagged household items and clothes that had officially taken residence in our wannabe-coatroom since April (until I evicted them to the basement two weeks ago). After returning to Chez Eugenia, Bryce and I packed up ourselves and a trunkload of hazardous materials (paint, car oil, pesticides) that's been in the basement since Heather acquired the house and headed to the City of Boston hazardous material drop-off near Millenium Park. After patiently waiting to rid ourselves safely of out trunkful of toxins, we headed to the top of Millenium for a walk- which also turned into a puppy-swim and soccer-playing. Fabulous :) We met new friends (Bruin + T-Bone) who turned out to be fellow swimmers and wrestlers. And exhausted ourselves thoroughly.

Returning home, we enjoyed a late lunch followed by a 75-min disco nap before heading to pick up a very happy wifey at school. After puttering around the house, we both enjoyed a light dinner (Toni, H. loves the peanut noodles) before going our separate ways (Heather to a disco nap and I on a date with Revlon). 60 minutes and many posed color-processing photos later, I was "ultralight 05 blonde" and Heather was refreshed.

We weeded and played with the pup once more before heading out to dancing with J. GirlSpot was an epic fail. Its advertised "cheap drinks and dancing" amount to $6.25 beers and $9.65 tequila shots sans dancing (unless you count moving strategically to avoid the chick who alternated leaping onto various queer young things to make out with spilling her frothy bottled beers over the non-dance floor as "dancing"). The upside was that we got to hang out with J and laugh hysterically while traipsing too many city blocks under 1 tiny umbrella in the Boston pour. Next time we'll stick to Kristen Porter's Dyke Night Productions and head to Felt or Machine. There's just something about a DJ that beats a pandora music station every time. I've no malice for GirlSpot - it was cute to see all the lil' barely 21 dykes out last night - but, as the name implies, it's a production in it's infancy. And, I'm just a little to old to wait for it to grow up.

All in all, yesterday was a massive self-care thumbs up. And I'll drink or give thanks to that any day. :)

Decisions

I was supposed to go to NH today.

Well, technically I was supposed to go to RI today.

Our nephew is playing lacrosse this weekend. My wife thought he was playing at home in RI (45 mins away from Boston) at 4pm today. In reality, he was playing away in NH (2 hours away form Boston) at 2pm today. A calendar snafu that led to changed plans today.

I spent half the night awake with a pooping dog (Bryce has diarrhea again). Deprived of sleep and feeling cranky, I realized that I had no desire to make a 4-hour round trip for a 90minute lacrosse game. [Especially as last week we did a 24-hour turnaround to Long Island and back and next weekend we are considering a trip to Maine, and then I leave for Georgia to take care of Dad]

So I made a decision to stay at home. But then, I balked and started to panic. "but Heather told Luc we were coming." "It's more important to see his game." "I just need to keep moving and get over myself." I almost talked myself out of it- putting guilt and family above my self.

And then I realized- I truly don't have to do this. I can stay at home and honor myself. That my first instinct toward self care is not wrong and not going doesn't make me "less of" an aunt.

So I've stayed at home this afternoon and it's been fantastic. By this point, Heather and Hannah are over halfway through watching the game. In the time they've driven up there and been watching, I've played with Bryce, done two loads of laundry, taken a 35 minute jog, played more with the dog, listened to "Wait. Wait. Don't tell me," and eaten lunch. And now I'm blogging. Next, I'm going to bake cheese scones and then watch a little television.

On a side note, this week I've been exercising more regularly and loving it. I've been holding off for the past few weeks because I've read that hard exercise irritates your gastric system. As I'm struggling with stomach pain and reflux (now going on for nearly a month) and am waiting for more testing and diagnosis, I realized that it can't get much worse. I feel like crap. I'm achey. I can't eat or drink the things I like. And I'm tired. Why the hell not exercise.

And every time I have exercised [Two runs, a good walk, and aerobics so far this week; indoor biking tomorrow and kickboxing on Monday] I've felt amazing afterwards. It's been a little hairy at the beginning of each session, my stomach gurgling and protesting until I hit my happy zone (my version of the runner's high) when everything becomes focused on how my legs are moving and my heart is pumping and my muscles are contracting. At that point, everything breaks and my tummy pain recedes. And, even better, so far this week exercise has had lasting effects for a few hours. And that, dear readers, is the best medicine I could ask for. Pain relief AND satisfaction with my efforts. Awesome.

So, now I've 2 hours (at least) before they get home and I'm going to bake and sing before resting. All told, I'm relaxing and rejuvenating.

Here's to you doing the same.