As a hardworking single mom that does for others the vast majority of the time, I have found that doing little things just for me goes a long way towards maintaining good mental health.
One of the things I’ve recently been doing is- my toenails. I’ve never gotten into the fingernail thing, have never had them done and probably never will. I never used to do anything with my toenails, until just lately. I see a lot of bare feet in my work and I started noticing that so many women paint their toenails- like, I’d say 90% of them. Then I went to a company function and one of my coworkers denigrated my femininity because my toenails were bare. So I decided to start doing them.
Now, I don’t know about you, but at this stage in my life (38), I’m not so good with the bending over and my stomach after 3 kids has become an obstacle in the pursuit of my toenails, so I decided to start getting them professionally done.
I started today, and got the French manicure ones- 5 dollars more but (squee) my little bitty toenails are so cute and she rubbed my feet, too. She also clipped my youngest son’s finger- and toenails for free, so that was a bonus.
What do you do that is so completely unnecessary yet makes you feel so good?
I used to get manicures and pedicures as well, back when I was working. It was completely self-indulgent but it helped me relax and my hands and feet looked nice to boot.
I guess nowadays I use baking as a therapeutic outlet. I fall into a Zen-like state and it’s very satisfying when the smell of warm cookies fills the house. It’s actually a bit of a luxury since baking materials tend to be priecy, especially on a student budget, but again, it helps keep me sane so I’d say it’s worth it.
Alice, I resent the implication that ladies are the only ones that find themselves doing for others all of the time and need to do small thngs for themselves.
I’m just now doing one of those things myself for the first time since I went to gym on Tuesday night; I’m having a good bourbon on the rocks now that Ihave the kitchen cleaned up and the laundry going.
Maybe I should try the toenail thing. It sounds rather indulgent.
I bought a new sweatshirt. The old one I had was comfy, but it was lumpy and kind of grubby, and lime green. I got one a new that’s kind of a dusty pink color, in a nicer fabric and a slimmer fit. It’s just as comfy, and now I don’t look like an ugli fruit.
I burn candles. A sinful amount of candles. I love the ambiance, the great scents, and the romance of candle light. They are soothing. I think my daughters have caught the bug as well because a couple have commented that a house with out candles burning just doesn’t feel homey to them.
And back in the day before I had any disposable income, I used to bake. Homemade brownies were my indulgence. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for me to get to my toenails today, heh.
Cut flowers. I’ve started to try always to have vase of cut flowers. They start out tall on the dining table, then get cut short and put into bud vases for my night table. Carnations last a long time–roses don’t.
I get a good haircut. My neighbor gets her hair cut for $7, and she’s unhappy with it. Every time. I pay $40 or so, including tip. Every day, when my hair does what I want it to, it’s worth it.
Manicures, sometimes. I like the idea of getting my nails done properly because although I do paint them myself, it can be a bit of a messy proposition. I like a full manicure, it makes me feel good, and I think part of the good feeling is having someone else do it for you. I could do a manicure myself but it wouldn’t feel the same.
I buy myself sexy underwear. (OK, Himself benefits, too, but still…) It’s just a nice little perk to be wearing my usual business casual work clothes, or jeans & t-shirts, and to have sexy, satiny or otherwise fun undies on underneath.
Cleaning lady 2 hours a week (okay, that wasn’t so much indulgence as the only way to prevent The Recurring Fight with my fiance)
Pedicures three times a year, only in sandal season.
Going out shopping for myself.
Sitting down with tea and library novel.
Buying a magazine or novel on long trainrides.
Buying something to pretty up my house.
Hiring a handyman to do some home-improvement thing to my liking. For instance, the room where both our computers stand, was virually unusable because of all the equipment that took up deskspace. Just last week, I cleaned out the computerroom, painted it, and had the handyman install a nice broad shelf with cosy little lamps underneath it. Now the printer, the scanner etc all go on the top shelf and don’t clutter up the deskspace anymore.
