Light 2015: May

You know what I miss now that the girls are older?
Dandelion bouquets. :)

After the complete and utter failure that was my April 2015 Light project (where I decided to give up my tech toys and learned that I can't eat a meal without one after all), this month, I wanted to do something a little less... difficult.

Hey, it's my Light project. I can do what I want.

So I've been concentrating on just being kind to myself. My mind and my body have been sort of chaotic lately, and I just want both to settle down. (You know what, anxiety? You suck.) Here are a few of the things I've been attempting with self-care in mind, even though I despise the term "self-care" because it seems so narcissistic. Personal problem, moving on.

Going to bed earlier. 
I like to sit in my chair playing Hay Day until I'm so exhausted that I barely have the energy to brush my teeth and wash my face for our 10 p.m.-ish bedtime. I've started crawling in bed around 8 (which isn't sad AT ALL) and reading until about 9, and then snuggling down. I have no idea if this will be plausable when summertime hits and the sun is up late and it's warm and lovely out... but I'm only worried about May, so BRING IT.

Exercising. 
I read somewhere that food is the most overused anxiety medication, and exercise most underutilized. So when Abby wants to take a walk after dinner, I go. Even though my legs are killing me. Even though I would rather rip my eyeballs clean out of my head. (Actually... no, that's gross. I'd rather walk.) It gives us a chance to talk, and I guess it does kind of help my anxiety, maybe just because I'm so tired that I don't have time to worry about anything.

Quiet time. 
We've been having some stupidly nice weather, and when I can swing it, I treat myself to quiet time on the deck, reading in the sun. It's the best.

Projects. 
Or, as I like to call it, My Ambitious Dinner Menus. I force myself to make meals early in the week so I can coast through the latter part. Which works remarkably well -- no Random Crap in a Tortilla nights for us! (Well... more than a couple, anyway.) More than that, having something to focus on is kind of a good thing. Not so much sitting and stewing. More like standing and braising. (Oh, I'm hilarious.)

Writing. 
I've tried to make writing for fun a priority this month, too. On the weekends especially, I like to grab a cup of coffee and go for it. It's part therapy, part relaxation technique, and all mine.

Getting out. 
Because I'm an introvert, this one is a little hard for me, but I've decided it's good to... I don't know, expand my horizons. Abby and I went to a high school presentation on anorexia one Friday night (to support Abby's friend, who is in recovery and was staging a fundraiser), and then on a Wednesday evening (!), I went to the library to see a presentation by Dee Williams on tiny house living. (She was hilarious. Best book talk ever.) Anyway, there are always events I think would be fun to go to, but never bother to make the effort. I'm bothering. It's been good.

So this is the part where I write a really witty conclusion, except I never got around to that, so just pretend. The end, I guess.