Just Me, Myself and I
This is important. This is something many of us forget. This is something we need to remember for ourselves and the other people in our lives. Each of us has a responsibility to care for ourselves. When feeling depleted and frustrated it is hard to care for others and more over, we deserve to take care of us, to feel good and happy. As a mom I find it so easy to forget about myself and get caught up in the everydayness of life; all the things each day that come and go pulling my attention. It is easy to become overwhelmed and depleted at a very deep level.
Well, today it was time to take care of me!
Back Story
We had a fun and exciting holiday season topped off with four birthdays in our immediate family. That is right four! We are all Capricorns and have our birthdays from December 29th to January 11th. With two little girls eager to celebrate their special day and with the excitement of Christmas, the last six weeks were a whirl wind of planning and activity. I always try to make their birthdays a bit extra special because, let's face it, having a birthday close to Christmas and New Year can be a big bummer. So this year, true to form, they each made special plans and we carried them out to the best of our ability. So, for me, today really feels like the first day of the new year, like the holidays are finally over and I can get on with life. But instead of feeling ready to go and grab the bull by the horns so to speak, I found myself feeling grouchy and tired. Previous life experience gained from ignoring signals from my body told me that I must stop, truly, and take sometime for just me. Just me, myself and I. With the kids at school and nothing immediately pressing in my day I decided to seize the morning and after a bit of ponderous deliberation settled upon a good old fashion spa day. As a young woman I used to relish in a custom, homemade spa day for myself once a week. Unlike in my youth when I would do hair masks and rinses and multiple different facial masks while soaking in a herbal bath, today's spa day needed to be easy while also feeling decant. I would say that I hit upon the perfect balance because now that I am done not only does my skin feel fabulous but my soul is peaceful, my mom brain is refreshed and clear, and well, I smell really good too!
The components of a luxurious, nourishing and simple mommy spa day
For this easy and relaxing morning I chose to do a honey mask, milky salt bath, shea butter foot rub and to finish off by brushing my favorite essential oil lavender right into my hair. Each time I move my head I am still surrounded by drifts of calming lavender being liberated from my hair. Um....
This spa day was simple with hardly any preparation required and easy to execute.
Here is how I did it...
- Honey Mask: I put a spoonful of honey into a bowl then added 3 drops of helichrysum (great for skin health and encouraging fresh new skin cell growth) and 2 drops of lavender essential oil to the bowl along with a sprinkle of mild soothing kaolin clay. While I am super lucky to have all of this in my bathroom, simple honey alone would be excellent because it is so very hydrating and nourishing for the skin. Before getting in the bath I applied this mixture to my whole face. It is important to put honey on dry skin as it kind of dissolves away when exposed to water. I left this mask on for my entire bath and throughly enjoyed the scent of honey and helichrysm wafting up to my nose! After rinsing the mask off at the end of my bath I followed up with a small amount of rose infused coconut oil from my favorite herbal apothecary Rebecca's. This oil was dreamed up by none other than oil making goddess Rebecca. So amazing!
- Milky Salt Bath: Epsom salts always find their way into my baths nowadays but today I wanted something special. So I filled a large glass to the brim with milk, took it into the bathroom and dumped it into the tub along with about two cups of epsom salts (this amazing salt relax muscles). Milk bathes, reputedly used by none other than Cleopatra, hydrate and smooth skin. Then when I got into the tub I added 8 drops of lavender and 4 drops of cedarwood (encourages a meditative mind and releases stress) essential oils and gave the water a good whooshing to mix in the oils. Now, I admit it, I take baths pretty regularly. I consider it one of my rights as a human being. But this bath was special. I think the milk really held the essential oils in suspension so that the smell from oils permeated the water for the entire length of the bath. It was so luscious!
- Shea Butter Foot Rub: After my bath I got all dry and toasty and then I gave my feet a nice rub with some rosemary lavender shea butter that I have on my nightstand but don't use often enough. My feet were thanking me as the dryness and tension melted away. Then cuddly warm socks topped my feet and kept the moisture where it needed to be.
- Lavender Hair Brushing: Last but not least, a few drops of lavender on my brush and some kind strokes through my hair topped off this wonderful experience. Lavender essential oil is a great conditioner for hair and the aromatic benefits of brushing essential oils into ones hair is profound because the oil is placed so close to the nose!
So here I am. Happy and calm again. So glad to be sharing my beautiful morning. It always surprises me that with a little intent and attention things can readily change. Feelings become clearer and thoughts settle. This was a fun adventure in self care using what I had on hand so that I could really focus on me. Now, when my kids come home from school, they will find a happier mom. A mom who is ready to listen fully and play and cuddle with her whole self!
