I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Kailua, Hawaii, feeling the serenity that comes from spending several hours each day walking on the beach. I booked this trip on impulse just a week before I arrived. I chose a solo getaway to Hawaii because this place has amazing healing properties.
Regular readers know I had a rough summer, I lost my best friend to cancer, and the last month has been unexpectedly difficult for me. Just the mention of her name makes me choke up. The grief that comes from losing someone you love in such a traumatic way is crippling. The combination of mental exhaustion from her caretaking and the grief of her loss welled up to a point where I was having difficulty getting out of bed in the morning.
I decided to show myself some love and give myself the gift of Hawaii for a week. And I couldn’t pass up a last minute airfare deal :) All these hours I’ve spent alone on the beach left to think and reflect reminded me how important it is to actively engage in self care. The term “self care” is one we hear a lot these days. It’s not just about taking care of ourselves physically, but mentally as well. I was having a conversation with a mom friend the other day. She was having intense anxiety because she was  being pulled in too many directions. This is so common among women, we tend to say yes to everything because we want to please others and then end up suffering as a result. We go through this internal debate:...