One of the things I have really utilised this year, especially over the COVID lockdown, is my weekly lie-in. Emily will get up early on a Saturday with Xander and leave me in bed whilst occasionally bringing me tea.
Image courtesy of Instagram.
As you all know, my normal wake up time is between 530am and 6am and this doesn’t change on a Saturday. In fact, Xander climbed into our bed at 430am this morning because he was excited about Emily setting aside time to play with him in his bedroom. By 6am, Emily and Xander made their way into Xander’s bedroom and I was half awake thinking about what I would do with my morning.
The other thing to note here is that due to travel plans we have had to get Xander to his grandparents for the holidays, I haven’t been able to enjoy my typical Saturday lie in for 4 weeks. Emily however, gets a lie in every morning (except Saturdays) as I leave her in bed whilst I carry out my morning routine with Xander in tow.
The first thing I always do with my weekly lie-ins is try to go back to sleep. This gives me the opportunity to recover from any building colds, late nights, Xander waking up in the middle of the night etc. If I have had an event free week then I am usually wide awake and ready to start my day.
Image courtesy of Nessessities.me
I then take the opportunity to lie in bed and read. Usually I only read at night before bed so actually getting an hour or so to just lie in bed and get absorbed into a book is the best feeling especially if my tea is being topped up regularly.
By the time it reaches 9am I am ready to start moving and making the most of the day. I hate wasting morning and lying around in bed really just doesn’t come naturally to me. However, I want to make the most of my weekly opportunity especially on days like this morning where I haven’t indulged in a while. This is my favourite bit of my lie-in and that is my pamper session.
I spend 20 minutes brushing my hair to the point that I can run any comb or brush through it and it won’t find a knot. Then I apply a facemask. Whilst the facemask is doing its work I exfoliate my entire body, then I jump in the shower to rinse it all off. This is the one shower a weeks where I will have the water hot, and it is the only time I will add conditioner to my hair.
Nothing screams self care like mud on your face… and yep, that is me.
Have you noticed that my journal and typical morning routine hasn’t featured once in this process? Sometimes I will journal in a notebook I have by my bed but honestly, I give myself permission to skip Saturday and really enough the ritual of being out of routine. Most of my life is scheduled around routines and planning ahead so it is really nice having a planned time where I schedule nothing for myself. Where I just do whatever feels best to me in the moment. Some Saturdays I am up and ticking off to-do’s by 9am but most times, I make it downstairs just before 12 to join Xander and Emily for lunch, feeling like I can smash the week ahead.
What do you do as regular self care? What conversations do you need to have with people in your life to allow this to happen regularly?
See you on Saturday 😀
Faerydae Stitches 