With The Band

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Last week was really special for me.

I’ve been With The Band for more than a year now but I’ve never gotten a chance to meet any of my Bandmates in real life. That changed last week when I got to meet Fallah, one of my fellow Team Leads, while she was in town for work.

 

We had such a good time!

We went to the Riverwalk and ate at a British pub that actually had a vegetarian menu, and discovered the joy that is curry mayo. I was nervous about meeting her, but we got on like a house on fire.

I hope that sometime this year I’ll get to meet more of my Bandmates because I just know we’ll have fun together too. I also hope I can figure out how to make that curry mayo because it was a happy all on its own.

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What's your Happy?

Don't think you have one? Look harder. Something will make you smile today. 

We want to know! 

Share it with the world on your blog and then link up below, tweet it out (hashtag #DOHMonday #WithTheBand) or share it on Facebook. Whatever you want to do, do it. Just find a bit of happy in this Monday! 

My life is better when I take time for myself. I notice the difference when I get that time and when I don't.

Big things. Little things. What makes your life better?

We often give power to people or things in our lives that do not deserve it. 

What do you do when you realize you need to take your power back?

Where do you find your power? How do you use it?

Are you where you want to be in your life? In your career? In your relationships? In the world?

If not, why not?

If you are, how did you get there?

We all do so much for other people. But do we do enough for ourselves?

Let's take a break for ourselves in March.

How do you take care of yourself, The Band? How do you manage to do the little things when life feels overwhelming?

I've never been the one to take time for myself.

Until it was too late.

For as long as I can remember, I've been doing for others. Taking care of my siblings, cleaning house for my parents, helping my stepfather input invoices when he got behind at work, playing June Cleaver to my first husband, raising my son, caring for my mother while she battled cancer, caring for my grandmother while she battled diabetes, cooking for my college roommates, caring for my future father in law as he recovered from a broken hip.

I did it all.

Then I couldn't anymore.

My health started to decline. RA took hold of my body and suddenly I couldn't take care of anyone else anymore, I could barely take care of myself. Over and over my heart broke as I had to ask for help with the simplest of tasks like opening a can of soda or a bottle of juice.

One of the best things I learned when I found The Band is that I can't possibly heal if I don't take care of myself. And that self-care can come in many forms.

Sometimes that means asking for help. Sometimes that means telling my friends and my fiance that I just need time to myself. Sometimes that means a bubble bath. Sometimes that means plugging in earphones and singing along to Meatloaf at the top of my lungs.

If I don't take these little moments for myself, I break. It happens suddenly and I'll find myself curled up on my couch or in bed with no idea of why I'm so tired, annoyed, spent, hurting. And each time I push myself past this limit, it takes me a little bit longer to come back to full speed. Or what accounts for full speed these days.

These days I'm still the one people come to for advice, a batch of artichoke dip for their party, or something crafty for a gift. I still love helping my loved ones.

I'm just a bit better at helping myself, too. And I have The Band to thank for that.