Sometimes, strong people overlook how much they have overcome. We forget to praise our own resilience, to cherish the perseverance that bears witness to a lifetime of trial by fire. That, this week, is what I am remembering to love about myself.
I often fail to notice when I am tired or overwhelmed because for so much of my life, I haven’t had the luxury of doing so. That’s something I learned from my parents. I do have that luxury now, however, and self-care (beginning with self-awareness) is starting to emerge as a theme I should carefully integrate into my week.
And so I took the first step in doing that at work, as has been encouraged. I gave my supervisor a heads up that in my life outside work, things are piling on (even though it’s not at all evident in my work—and neither do I plan for it to be). And truthfully, it has been a bit of a week or so for my family and me. From deployment news to a still-unresolved cancer scare to moving news (all family) to my decently expensive car issues and seasonal sickness and a kid dropping out mid-season…to our beloved cat of 15 years very possibly facing kidney failure (we should find out tomorrow), I suppose life has given me a valid excuse for being tired right now.
There are many things in my life upon which I would like to improve, but at least for now, I can be proud that I am still standing, still grateful, still loving, and still very much optimistic about the future. Sometimes, that takes guts.