Self Care Made Simple.
Reassuring Rituals & Healthy Rhythms
“Stressed souls need the reassuring rhythm of self-nurturing rituals.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach
I don’t like to think of myself as a stressed soul, but this morning I am. My four year old woke up three times during the night, and I hit snooze on my alarm when it sounded at 5 am. Still, the stress fades when I finally force myself awake. In the quiet of my room, I let out a slow breath. First, I slip on my workout clothes already laid out on my chair, then prayer, then a run with a close friend as dawn breaks over the fields.
Coming home to a house full of kids getting ready for breakfast, I pause for a quick hug from my husband, who is already up scrambling eggs and looking for lost school books. We juggle filling up water bottles, quiz our fourth grader with flashcards, help our sleep resistant four year old find the only shirt she currently wants to wear, then three kisses, three hugs, as three backpacks head out the door.
It’s Thursday, which means we can linger over our coffee at the breakfast table, him picking my brain about work, me asking about campgrounds for next month’s getaway. We smile, laugh, relax into each other’s presence. Still in my pajamas, I kiss him as he packs up his laptop.
My four year old settles into her drawing and I shower, then wash my face in warm running water. Moisturize, relishing the feeling of the silky cream on my fingers and face, taking time to examine my skin in the mirror, appreciating my hard earned laugh lines and the gray hair emerging at my temples. A few minutes is all it takes to nurture myself. Lip gloss, mascara and a fall dress and I’m ready to face the day.
I think about all of the little rituals that moved me from my pre-dawn stress. Prayer, exercise, time with my kids before school, coffee with my husband, a clean body - each little decision moving me toward peace, reassuring me that all is well in my body, all is well with my soul.
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"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."
-St. Augustine