Today I’m grateful for the boring kind of self-care.

11.6.2023

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I wanted to get a pedicure after school today. I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday. I’m way overdue for one and it seemed like the perfect thing to do on a Monday afternoon to kick off the week. As I drove to my nail place after work I was trying to decide what nail polish color to go with. I was leaning toward purple, but decided to make a gametime decision once I got there.

Well, it turns out that my nail place is closed on Mondays. How did I not know this?

I clearly could have driven to another nail place. There’s practically one in every strip mall. But I didn’t. I like my place and didn’t feel like testing out a new one. So I drove home, disappointed. I was counting on a little self-care pampering. Booooo!

I read something this summer (and by read, I probably mean ‘saw it on Instagram’) about how self-care is more than bubble baths and chocolate. The author (errrrrr…. 'influencer') made the point that sometimes self-care isn’t fun. It’s making the doctor’s appointment you don’t want to make, or it’s cleaning out your car so you’re not stressed every time you get in it. It’s doing something you may not want to do, but you know is good for you and will leave you better off when it’s done. I really liked that.

So, instead of a relaxing pedicure, I came home and unloaded the dishwasher. I folded a load of laundry. I put in a grocery order for pick-up tomorrow, cut up a cantaloupe, and prepped a week’s worth of overnight oats. Fun? Nope. But will I be thankful for these actions all week long? Yep. I’ll probably even be more thankful for these than I would have been with perfectly pedicured toenails.

It's all about balance, I suppose. Adulting and pampering can both be self-care. One is fun. And one is boring (and sometimes downright painful). And tonight I’m grateful for the boring kind, cuz it means a full fridge, a clean kitchen, and fresh laundry. As for tomorrow … well, tomorrow there will be purple toenails.