The Rationalization for Relaxation
Let’s take a moment to talk why I’m doing this.
Most of the things I address deal with the emotional side of being a wife and a woman. Then there’s the mental health implications of being a married woman. It is imperative to be diligent about taking care of yourself. As emphasized so many times, you cannot take care of others if you’re not taking care of yourself.
One of the most relatable sayings I’ve heard is that you can’t pour from an empty cup.
My cup is empty.
I had talked to my husband about doing these sorts of staycations a couple of months ago; he was completely on board. He expressed that this was something that I need to do to take care of myself. Finding every reason – errands, meeting others’ needs – I kept pushing it back. I was anxious about the time away because I hadn’t planned out what I was going to do: what activities I was going to get into, what content I’d create, and how to promote it.
I was thinking of all the things that I was leaving at home. All the things that still needed to be done; there’s always going to be something to do. As a result, I still had a lot of anxiety. And that is ultimately why I decided to do this series. To be intentional about taking time for myself to regroup and recharge…and just be alone.
When I wrote the post about getting away from it all, I started by revealing that “I’m drowning.” It was really hard for me to admit that. I think a lot of us are in the same situation. Life starts to revolve around taking care of the children, the spouse, family, friends and coworkers…but who’s taking care of you? What was the last time that you really took the time to take care of yourself? If I’m being honest, I don’t remember when I did that for myself; I don’t think that I’m alone. These days, society expects us – as wives and as women – to put everyone else before ourselves and put everyone else’s needs before the needs of own.
The need for self-care is real.
I have a friend who very recently was having some medical issues that were all related to stress and not doing enough to take care of herself. She’s such a sweet person and such a giving person, putting everybody ahead of herself. She was the one who paid the price for it.
We’re very quick to say when we have a job, don’t worry about doing everything because it’ll be there tomorrow. But we don’t take that same approach with our families and with our personal lives. We have a mission to get all the things done and we have so many things to do on our personal to-do lists that it gets overwhelming. And that’s exactly where I’ve found myself.
So, this is the first stop on a continuing and intentional project to make sure that I am deliberate about taking care of myself. I want to encourage you to do so as well.
Enjoy Dinner and a Drink or Two
The urge to “do” was so strong that I couldn’t resist getting out and about. Thanks to the Birds which are everywhere downtown, I was able to get out and about quickly. One of my favorite hobbies is photography. My therapist suggested that I participate when I felt stressed or overwhelmed.
Once I’d come back from taking photos along the river, I introduced myself to the complimentary drink that I was offered upon check-in. The Moxy Memphis has their own specialty cocktails; I ordered both The Moxy Cocktail and the Dirty Donkey. The latter consisted of vodka, ginger beer, and lime; it lived up to its spiciness for sure! Staycations call for being relaxed and these drinks were doing what I hoped they’d do.
Dinner is Served
Realizing that I should probably put some food on my stomach, I began scouring local menus. The Moxy has a restaurant that serves dinner, but I had a craving that needed to be satiated.
After a few phone calls, Bardog Tavern won out! Hubby has a pork intolerance, so I don’t risk making it at home. So, if treat yo’self was a meal, it would be this:
I ordered the Blackened Pork Chop with baked cinnamon apples, substituting the Brussel sprouts for a house salad. Caramel cake was a must-have for dessert.
One very short conversation with the hubby later, I finally started to really relax into my self-care staycation. The two drinks I’d had helped, for sure! I was able to wind down and sink into the super comfortable pillows on the bed.
The bed I had all to myself.
All the worry and anxiety pushed aside, I don’t know why I waited so long to do this. One thing that I do know, I won’t wait so long to do it again.
Check out the video tour and summary here.
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