s e l f c a r e
Whether you are working 9-5, unemployed and sitting at home waiting for a job, a mother at home with kids all day, or you're a barista by day and a bartender by night barely making it by, if you're living the dream and climbing the ladder, and yes if you're a flight attendant; we need to talk about self care. Let me break this down for you; self, i.e. you, yourself and nobody else; care, taking action on things that will improve and protect your health and well being. How often do you combine the two?
Two days ago, I was up for 33 hours straight, I worked twelve of them and was on a plane for 16 of them, caffeinating all 33 of them. My self care moment of the day? It was when I was dead beat exhausted, was up too many hours, worked a flight with 11 passengers, and pushed myself to the finish line (aka my hotel bed) and I---and I...well, I actually didn't do myself any favors that day. In fact, I drank too much coffee, not enough water, went to sleep with my make up on, and in fact went to sleep with my work clothes still on. I woke up 10 hours later with lipstick on my pillow case, smeared mascara, my body achy and tired and crampy from a day of flying, not enough water and pushing my body too far. I woke up at noon, in New Jersey, and had another flight in seven hours.
I sat up and stretched, feeling the full weight of the day before, where I didn't have even a minute to focus on what my body needed--not wanted, but needed. Instead I pumped myself with caffeine, food that didn't help me, pushed myself to limits that hurt my muscles and overall left me waking up feeling stressed, dehydrated and worn. For you, this may be how your week feels--you have to leave your house at 7am for work, get home at 8pm, you're trying to cram in eating healthy, maintaining relationships, running a household, going to spin class, doing laundry, paying bills on time, sleeping, and--well, where is the time that you squeeze in for you? How do you manage getting a few minutes for "Virginia Time"?
How easy is it to forget about one thing in the day to fully focus on you? I know for me in between taking care of my passengers, feeding my pilots, working, changing time zones, prepping for a flight, cleaning the plane, writing reports and then being utterly exhausted after a long day in the life--9 out of 10 times I can't think of a single moment in the day I did something to truly take care of me. Yesterday I had 7 hours to "take care of myself" in order for me to be ready to fly again after an incredibly long 33 hour stretch. Ya wanna know what I did? I went on a run, I journaled, took an incredibly wonderful and long hot shower, I ordered a kale salad full of antioxidants and I danced to some Shania as I got ready for my flight. These little things, though they didn't solve that I was absolutely exhausted still, help put a little pep in my step and carry on with such a better attitude than the day before when I had little to no time for myself, leaving me feeling the farthest thing from being myself.
I know the reality--there are days where full on self care is not possible, but something this year is teaching me is how I have so much more control in my life than I ever knew before. I have the power to say "no, I have 5 minutes to....***enter happiness maker here***". I have the ability to stay in my pajamas all day and watch movies, catch up on a book, listen to music, take a bath, drink tea and sleep (This may be exactly what I did today and am writing to you from the exact pajamas I woke up in in my hotel room and I do not regret one dang part of it). Whatever it is, make at least one thing a priority for your day, those things that you know make your heart happier will mold the rest of your day--they help you be the you-est you can be. It's a work in progress for me, as I'm sure it always will be, but the start of it is knowing that it makes all the difference to who I am in the day. Taking the time to invest in yourself, even five minutes in your day, will never be a waste of time.