Tuesday SOL--Add It Back

Tuesday SLICE OF LIFE Post

I was reminded recently that when we go through difficult times we tend to put aside the things that give us pleasure, which can make stress harder to tolerate. I was assigned the task of adding back things I've taken away from myself during several months of intense caregiving.

Here's what I added back:

Reading

I've only managed to read sporadically lately, so yesterday I sat at my favorite library and read until I finished Toni Morrison's potent and concentrated novel Home. 


Running

My schedule eased a bit and the weather improved a bit, so I started running again. How nice to exercise outside without wearing boots.

Swimming

I joined a community center with a pool that's just a short walk from where I'm staying. Several mornings a week now I'm swimming laps. Perfect. On the way home, my hair freezes like icicles--not since I was on a swim team in high school have I heard my frozen hair clacking.

Friends

I've been lucky to be surrounded by family. Last week I also had lunch with a friend--a simple and much needed pleasure. We laughed and cried and ate too much and then went for a brisk walk in the winter sun.

Writing

Blogging, fiction, poetry--so much writing has been set aside. But here I am writing and posting this for the Tuesday Slice of Life Challenge. It's a solid writing restart. Stories, poems...they'll come back. I can already hear their voices in the distance coming closer, closer . . . .


Be good to yourself. What can you add back to your life?