A Day of Rest
Yesterday, in the Valkyrie Discord, one of our Valks said she was feeling down, because she hadn’t had the energy for her workouts for almost a week… because she was on a 50 mile ride with her family last weekend. It hit me with some shock for a second, because I would rest for a week if I had done a 50 mile bike ride too! And I realized how much we focus on output, and never give ourselves a chance to recharge, especially as Women.
Don’t get me wrong, we all work hard at our daily lives regardless of our gender. But it goes without needed explanation that Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Women; we shoulder a lot, and we don’t talk about it much either. Often being dismissed as nagging or complaining, whiney females, we carry the burdens of our society on our backs, and somehow in this world, we have been taught that we have to deserve rest, we have to work through the requirement of recovery and healing, and that we should feel bad when we need the time for those things.
Full stop, you should never be ashamed of needing recovery time, no matter what that looks like for you.
Sometimes recovery is some extra sleep and a hot shower. Sometimes, recovery is eating nourishing foods and hot tea, tons of water, and low exertion. Recovery can also look like a day spent with friends or family, cozy clothes and a movie. Resting is crucial, just like food is there to fuel your body because you’re alive and it’s literally a necessity, rest and recovery time is just as essential. The idea that we have to earn such things is a monstrous offense, and I am hell bent on fighting that social conditioning with myself, my family, and my Valkyrie Sisters.
Discord was full of tons of great conversations, honesty, and compassion last night, and my eyeballs got a little leaky reading all the love in the words my Valkyrie Sisters offered each other, and offered me. We are all spread out so far across the world, and yet we’re all there for each other as often as we need. We connect, we inspire, we laugh, we celebrate each other and offer love and encouragement daily, making sure the cups of each of us are full to overflowing. I am honored, and blessed, to be part of it.
All mushy words aside, I needed a break today. My son woke up while I was readying my husbands lunch this morning and I knew right then and there, that even if I didn’t intend to take a rest day today, that my son was reminding me that I could when I needed to. So we went back to bed to snuggle, I dozed for about an hour, and got up. I wrote in my journal, reviewed my planner, took a long, super hot shower, took extra time to scrub my skin and moisturize, dressed in my cozy autumn clothes, and sat down with some toast and hot tea until everyone woke up for the day. Rest. Just a nice, easy day to focus on what’s important; taking care of myself as I need to be cared for.
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