Sunday, December 17, 2017

Self-Care During the Holidays

Remember to take care of yourself during the holiday season, or else you'll end up with "Frankenstein Coffee". Or worse, NO coffee!

You probably think I'm nuts, but read ahead. Imagine the following:

There I was, in PJs and slippers, hair askew, slowly shuffling into the kitchen while resembling the walking dead. One eye was half-open, the other one was closed, and I barely avoided knocking into things.

I managed to fill and start the kettle.

I managed to pull out the pour-over pot and the filter.

The water started boiling! Yay! Hope is nigh: soon, I will be caffeinated! I can do this! I am ready to tackle this Sunday!

*pulls out ground coffee*

Uh-oh.

I've only got a tiny bit of regular coffee left...

*roots around in cabinet*

...and also some weird vanilla stuff from Target that I didn't really like the first time I tried it.

Ok! I've got this! I'll just combine them. I'll finish up the regular stuff, and a scoop or 2 of vanilla on top will eke out a large mug. Should be drinkable, right? Whatever, caffeine is caffeine.

*coffee brews*

*pours coffee in mug*

Almost there!

*opens fridge*

Uh-oh.

I've only got a trickle of milk left, no half-n-half, and a smattering of what might be expired pumpkin spice Mini Moo's® rattling around in the drawer of the fridge. I honestly have no idea of their freshness status, because the box was chucked out long ago during an effort to neaten up the fridge.

I very sleepily attempt to give myself a pep talk: "Ok, Beth, this MAY be an emergency, but you CAN deal. How bad can half-vanilla coffee with potentially expired pumpkin spice creamer be? At least you have enough for a mug. Suck it up, suck it down, and get on with things."

Today, this is what "adulting" looks like in positively b.e.e. land.

Guys: If you know me AT ALL, you know that while I am an early riser, I am not exactly a "morning person." I literally stumble around with one eye half-open so I don't crash into anything, but that's it. Bare-minimum engagement with the world around me until I wake up is my modus operandi. I am nonverbal, nonvisual, and nonfunctioning. I do not even contemplate using actual words until I've been up for awhile and have started sipping the blessed, blessed bean.

If you're a guest in my house and you witness this, you get used to it. You know not to ask me anything complicated or try to have a conversation while I'm still waking up. If you need to know where something is, I can point at the thing you need, but don't expect much else. I may answer you with grunts and shrugs until my language centers come fully online.

Now, I'm usually pretty good at taking care of myself. I know what I need to do to get through any day, let alone the last weekend before Christmas. Taking care of myself usually starts with a cup of coffee. And yet (!!!), I had somehow, in the midst of all the holiday craziness, broken my CARDINAL RULE:

Always have coffee supplies in the house. Coffee. Half-n-half or milk. Sugar. These are the basics, right? It could be the apocalypse outside, but I will be fully caffeinated before handling all the zombies, is all I'm saying.

What happened that I have let such a travesty befall my house?

I had been so busy shopping for Christmas presents, prepping for Christmas visits, writing Christmas cards, doing this, doing that, doing the other thing--that I had completely forgotten to take care of my own needs.

Thankfully, my needs this season basically amount to shopping for more coffee supplies. And I am immensely grateful that that's all I need!

Hopefully, this was a humorous reminder to practice self-care over the holidays. Don't lose sight of what YOU need this season, ok?

Take a little time for yourself, sip some coffee (or wine), and take a breather. Things don't need to be perfect. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Yule, or nothing at all, this time of year has a way of getting us in a tizzy. The important things are family, shared traditions, and spending time with each other, NOT all the other stuff that gets us wound up, like shopping, parties, cooking, baking, etc. Those things are certainly fun, but sometimes they have a way of making us a little nuts, too.

Also, if you love the holidays, they go by so fast, don't they? Blink and you miss it! Try to slow down and take it all in.

For instance, sometimes after work, instead of driving straight home, I'll go the long way around and drive through extended portions of the neighborhood to look at everyone's lights while singing along to Christmas carols playing on my car stereo. It's a small thing, but it's a few minutes of "me time" that I cherish, and ensures I'm living in the moment without the holiday to-do list pressing in on me.

Comment below and let me know how you like to celebrate the season, what you're doing to get through it, or even what type of coffee you like!  Don't forget to share with your friends!

And whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful rest of the year!

Oh, and while I may have just sucked it up and sucked it down, my Frankenstein coffee actually wasn't too bad, after all! Who knew?









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