wrist watch
March 3, 2015 § 4 Comments
This past Christmas my husband bought me a watch that could bear the brunt of my clumsy tendancies, weather my forgetfulness around water, and count the circles I tend to chase. I began to time my days by footsteps, nurturing movement more mindfully and measuring health with tidy markers of physical productivity.
Last week I shucked my new accessory and ceased to watch my wrist. I stopped measuring my footsteps and instead gauged my relief and worry, responsibilities and priorities against the sweeping arc of my daughter’s fever as she slept through entire days. Sensitive to light and sound the house was a tomb; stillness settled against our attention, blurring time with a void of activity.
Today was my daughter’s first day back to school and we all teetered between breakfast and school with efforts that felt calculated and forced; as if we were moving under water with heavy limbs. The minutes gained momentum as eagerness and caution cycled into a rusty routine.
I accompanied my daughter into the empty hallway before school, toting the weight of her books while she settled her bulky winter gear. It was only after I said goodbye that I recognized the tension of my own worries too long coiled against nervous stillness. Hurrying home I fished out the forgotten gadget and ran, pushing myself into a measure of strength that cleared my head and tired my limbs with a calmer energy.
I am not a runner or an athlete by any creative stretch of imagination, but this sense of self found in the flex and stretch of muscle and mind is a timely reminder of the value of counting self-care. The physical, mental, and emotional balance we so often overlook in tending to others, essential to the balance of home.
scribblechic 
Nothing like a run, even if you’re a turtle. It gets so hard to do when it’s cold out, the kids need us, etc., etc., etc. Such a wise observation, as always.
Carving out that time for self-care, however we mark our value and experience joy, is essential to balance.
It’s been my experience that the act of periodically stressing oneself just beyond the normal boundaries–of strength in any form–tends after a suitable period of healing to result in new-found strength; an antifragility that transcends resilience. We never know what we are capable of until we push those boundaries.
On a personal note, thank the heavens you are not living in NL right now. The piles of ploughed snow that line our streets result in periodic ice-traps, swimming pools and always, spots where one takes ones life into their hands 🙂
Love that you spoke to strength after strain. So true.