Welcome to Tuesday Topics, which I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic: Self-care check: how do you show yourself kindness this month?
I’m actually pretty good at showing myself kindness. Now that my kids are older, I have the time to make sure I have what I need on a daily and weekly basis. Those things are: exercise, reading, margins in my day, and time on the couch with my cats.
Exercise is a no-brainer for me. I need some form of daily exercise just to keep my head above water. If I don’t get it, I truly feel like crap. Morning works best for me- on the days where I put it off to the afternoon, I feel vaguely anxious all day. However, a late afternoon run really relaxes me and sets me up for a good night’s sleep.
Let’s talk about READING! If I’m not in the middle of a book, I feel sad. I love fiction, so that’s mostly what I read. I just finished this:
When I went to the library to pick up Age of Innocence for Engie’s book club, I couldn’t help myself and got this as well:
Yes, I know I said I had to read all the books I own first, but I couldn’t walk out of the library with just one book!
Margins in my day- this specifically refers to my morning. I don’t start work till 10 am, which means I could do my workout after I take my daughter to school. But then I would have to rush through my breakfast. I would much rather get up a little earlier and work out before I take my daughter, even though it means running in the dark.
That way, after I take her to school I have to time to sit down to a nice, leisurely breakfast, sip tea, and read blogs. Sometimes I’ll write a blog post during this time as well (or, at least start one- often I’ll start it and then finish or tweak it later in the day). I LOVE having this time to myself before starting work.
Let’s move on to… CATS! I love, love, love sitting on the couch with my book and a cat, or preferably two cats. For a while Muffin and Foxy were happy to snuggle with me. Lately it’s been Foxy and Sylvie (new kitten- renamed from “Evie.”)
BUT GUESS WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT…
Muffin didn’t stay long, but she got up on the couch and sniffed at Sylvie. Muffin was not aggressive and Sylvie wasn’t scared. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before Muffin is comfortable enough to join in the snuggling. Will I have a photo soon of all three cats cuddling together??? STAY TUNED!
Oh… and my husband has officially said we can keep Sylvie! But he also warned me- NO MORE FOSTERS. My son concurred… as he put it, “This is why we can’t foster- we’d end up with 100 cats.”
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
Next week’s topic: Share something you LOVE about your active lifestyle!
Do any of these things say “self care” to you? Do you have other ways of showing yourself kindness?
Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
34 Responses
Sylvie is officially a member of the family! Foster fail for the win! She’s such a little angel. So glad Muffin’s considering joining the cuddle puddle.
No self care here- you provide an example I should follow but won’t.
I know your life is pretty crazy but I want you to have some self care! I know you read at least- I hope that provides you with some peaceful moments.
Oh my gosh I’m so happy Sylvie gets to stay! She is simply the sweetest! So adorbs! And the way she and Foxy snuggle. MELT!!! Love it. So happy for you and your family. What a wonderful addition.
Thank you Noemi! She really is the cutest, sweetest thing. My husband couldn’t resist her (I was pretty sure it would turn out that way!)
Oh, so you can keep Sylvie! How nice!
Just yesterday I reade that the frequency of a cat’s purr overlaps with frequencies used in physical therapy to promote healing. Crazy, right? So having two (or soon THREE) cats next to you purring must be great!
I’m with you on the morning workouts… later in day just makes me antsy.
Oh really??? I do feel like a cat’s purr is very soothing mentally- so it has physical benefits as well? I believe it!
And that is why I don’t foster animals–I’d want to keep them all! Welcome Sylvie!
I too love my time in the morning–it is when I am most productive! I really love my afternoons when I’m not working–especially when I can sit on the couch and read. That keeps me centered. Right now, I have a lot on my plate, and my ‘me time’ has been limited.
I know Wendy- I’ve always wondered how people who foster can give them up. I guess it’s a good thing there are people out there who can do it.
Reading is a great way to stay centered. Glad you’re able to make time for it even when things are super busy.
I could never foster and not keep the cat. My hubby wants a third. Im hesitant.
I do try each day for self care. It’s usually exercise and reading. But work takes up most of my time. It pays for the fun stuff.
You do a good job of fitting fun stuff in, even with a busy work schedule. And- get a third!!! A kitten would be better received by your older cats than a full grown cat.
I’d say my biggest part of self-care is carving out time to be alone. It’s harder than it sounds. My husband (if he’s in the country) works from home, my parents are nearby all winter, I have two kids, etc. But NOTHING fills my cup like concentrated time alone, so I have to be intentional about making that happen regularly. When I get my introvert time, I’m much better at pretending to be an extrovert 😉
Yay for Sylvie officially being part of the family, and I’m glad to see Muffin is slowly coming around <3
Yes- time alone. It’s HARD when you have kids! Much easier when they get older. I agree though- sometimes you have to work hard to carve out that time.
Welcome to your new family, Sylvie! I had a strong feeling you’d keep her and can’t wait to see all three kitties cuddled together!
Working out first thing in the day just sets the tone for my day, and assures me that I got it taken care of and don’t need to stress about it later.
Yes- if I do it first thing then I know it’s done. Things can come up later in the day.
Yay for getting to keep Sylvie! She looks like such a sweetie!
I’m the same way with running, I feel best doing it in the morning but I also enjoy when I’m able to do an afternoon run. I wish I could get in two runs a day more often!
I don’t have much of a margin in my mornings unfortunately. I wake up, it takes me about an hour to get ready, I do my run, quickly get ready for work and then go to work. I do try to read a couple blog posts while I’m getting ready and I’d have more time if I got up a little earlier but I’d rather sleep as long as I can!
Yes- there are benefits to runs in the afternoon. I’m usually faster when I run in the afternoon, so that feels good. But it’s best to get it done first thing.
That’s a tough choice, more time in the morning or more sleep. You can’t go wrong with more sleep!
Book rules were made to be broken! Especially when the reason is self care! I just finished Heart the Lover, and I liked it a lot and plan to check out more of Lily King’s books.
Let’s hear it for self care! It is literally putting on your own oxygen mask first.
My prediction is that by this weekend you will start having thruple kitty snuggles. It is a bit of an adjustment for Muffin to have gone from being the baby to being an older sister x2, but she will rock it.
I read Writers and Lovers by Lily King a couple years ago and really liked it.
Thruple kitty snuggles=life goals. Now would be the time for it while it’s chilly here!
Foxy looks like a giant next to that kitten! They grow up so fast. (In my head I keep calling her Licorice because that’s a great name. Sylvie. Her name is Sylvie!)
Hee hee. You can think of her as “Licorice!” And I know- how did I used to think Foxy was little??? He’s huge now!
YOU GET TO KEEP SYLVIE!!!!!!! I am so very excited! What better form of self care than getting a cat?!?! I love how tiny she looks next to Muffin.
That’s absolutely correct- there is no better form of self care. I’ll be sending kittens to all my blogging friends this month.
Yay! You are keeping Sylvie! I am so thrilled for you – and also a little jealous. I wish we could get a cat but Phil hasn’t wanted to because in the past, Oscar would come and stay with us for a few weeks of the year. But she won’t let him pick her up and put her in the carrier anymore. He’s tried. She will not leave my MIL’s house. So I think we should get our own cat that is fine with loud children. But Phil’s kind of a “one cat at a time” kind of a guy, even though the one cat we “have” doesn’t and will never live with us again… So he looks at cat videos to get is fill on cats.
I am definitely working on prioritizing fitness in 2026. It’s slipped for a variety of reason the last couple of years. It helps that I am so in love with the OTF classes and the whole experience of being back in group fitness. Plus to get a spot in classes, you need to schedule them in advance so that makes me figure out when I can fit them in. I want to experiment with doing 1 5am class/week to see how that goes so I can try to get 4 classes in/week. I also make time for reading. Most of my reading happens during the hour before bedtime but sometimes I get to read besides Paul on the couch while he reads his own book which is very delightful!
What you need is for a little kitten to fall into your lap, kind of like what happened with us and Sylvie. I mean she didn’t exactly fall into our laps, but it did come about very naturally. Since it sounds like Phil does like cats, it seems like it would be a good thing for your family. I’m sure Oscar doesn’t like moving back and forth, so she (ha, I remembered her gender!) should stay with your MIL permanently. While you get a new cat.
It sounds like OTF is the perfect fit for you. And- reading on the couch with Paul sounds equally as delightful as reading with a purring kitten on your lap.
Yay Sylvie! Is she named for Sylvie in Emily in Paris? I love her, and I hope they all become great friends soon.
I really enjoyed Heart the Lover too. Now I want to listen to The English Teacher, another Lily King book.
No, my daughter named her after a Pokemon character (SIGH.) But- I’m happy with the name. It could be much worse!
I should check out more Lily King books! I’m so happy you told me HTL and WAL are companion novels- it makes me like them even more.
I think Sylvie on Emily in Paris is perhaps not the best character for a teenager to identify with, so that’s OK. She’s a few hours older than we are, and very complicated. It’s a darling name for a cat.
I may check out more Lily King books as well.
*years* older than we are.
A cuddle with THREE cats? I’d love to see that photo!
Feels like I’m here after a long time, but I remember some of the rhythms and was wondering if you would be treating yourself to your Wednesday bookstore trip. I love that piece of your self-care so much!
And what’s wrong with 100 cats????
I’m so glad your husband agreed to keeping Sylvie! She’s precious! And muffin will come around, and I can’t wait to see all three cats together.
love that you spend time taking care of you! You deserve it!
I am like you, exercise, reading, margins, only need to snuggle with kids while reading. I don’t get that treatment yet. Maybe I should move to read where they are.
Sylvie is so cute and Muffin seems interested! Sigh… will not happen in our house.
Reading is probably my biggest form of self-care. It quiets my mind and helps me “get back to myself” – my husband learned early in our marriage that when I start feeling frazzled/spinning my wheels, to tell me “go read a little bit” 🙂
I also have found doing things with my hands is extremely grounding, which makes my crochet adventures doubly beneficial!
And sometimes I say “I gotta check on the chickens” when I just need a moment outside, breathing fresh air, with the soft soundtrack of chicken chatter (and the occasional cuddle from one of the littles).
Yay for Sylvie being part of the family! She is such a cutie!!
True story, I ran in the library last week to pick up a hold ahead of the snow storm. The girl checking me out double- and triple-checked the shelf before going “there’s only 1?!” LOL That may be the first time I’ve walked out with 1 book … but I already had a stack at home too 😉
YES! We knew your husband would come around… who can say no to that sweet kitten? 🙂 And even Muffin is warming up to her! Can’t wait for the photo of the three of them.
Having a “margin in your day” is really priceless. I hate days where I just rush from thing to thing from morning to night…. but most days, I have a margin and I am thankful.
WAY TO BURY THE LEDE, JENNY! You get to keep Sylvie! I’m so happy. Now I need to visit you so I can snuggle all of your cats, haha.
I love having a quiet, slow start to my morning. I could start work a lot earlier than I do, but I’d rather have a low-key morning.