Time for Some Self Care

Half way through the summer semester of college I ran into a road block. To be honest, I was actually kind of expecting it. After over a year of steadily recovering my health, I had finally hit a plateau. I was still dealing with my Hashimoto's but from a much better place and I was ready to start taking my life back. I so I pushed myself to see what would happen. To be honest, I was having the time of my life. Then it happened. Brain fog, exhaustion, hand rashes, slow wound healing, and the list continues. The thing was that this time, none of my usual self care tricks were working. So as the semester ended I had to make a decision. The decision to take the fall semester off and dive into some serious self care in the hopes of coming out even stronger for the next round. First on my list was a little weekend get away. For me this means getting back to nature and so I headed off without my girls to the river.

This was a "solo" trip, just for me (with a few friends to hang back as a safety measure). The weekend was spent in the seat of a kayak. Just me and the river. It was just what I needed. To be honest, the first evening was spent at a local festival with live music and some amazing fireworks, a great way to begin. Then off to the river were I have spent countless summers and the memories of each bend came back to me just like riding a bike. This was the first time I had been out here alone and it was a great time for some self reflection. The realization that.....

"Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you are." - Chinese Proverb

...hit pretty strong out there for me. You see, even though I'm pretty comfortable with my life these days, if I had to admit it, I've never truly excepted the Hashimoto's version of me. In my day to day life, I have expectations of myself, out there on the river I had none, and it felt good.

So I am home now, back to the real world, with two realizations. One, that it's time to be who I am, and two, I need to get out on the water more often. Which I plan to do this evening.