Eat, Sleep and the Life Unscheduled (AKA playing catch up with Radical Self-Love)

Thought I would condense my first three topics into one post playing catch up!

Sleep is something I'm getting more and more of these days, and it wasn't by choice at first.  I am still crawling out of the pit my body fell into before figuring out I have celiac disease.  Lots of deficits to make up.  Severe iron deficiency is one of the biggest of them.  Thus, I'm quite tired and have to ensure that I rest plenty while my body is trying to heal and rebuild stores.  I've been known to sit on my front porch and simply nap for an hour or so.  Anyone who knows me would be in shock.  I am the moving target that never "lights", the busy bee that flits from task to task.   Well, the guilt for (gasp!) sitting still and doing nothing has been eroded and I just said, the hell with it.  It's my time to rest in the sun for a little while.  Whatever it is can wait a while.  I preserve my energy for the necessary and feh to the rest.  For now.

Food is obviously an area that, having gone gluten-free, has changed dramatically for me in the past month or two.  I feel so much better, *incredibly* better.  I have lost weight, feel lighter, and best of all---don't hurt or get horribly weak and sick every time I eat.  Eating has become a much more mindful activity.  I really don't resent having to think ahead and plan for what to eat.  Just dropping by a fast food drive thru for a quick bite is not possible for me.  And I say, THANK GOODNESS.  It was probably slowly killing me.  I've discovered new foods that are delicious, rediscovered how much I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables.  I eat more slowly.  I eat smaller meals more frequently.

Scheduling is just an accepted part of my work life.  I am a therapist and clients book appointments throughout the week.  I prefer to see a few clients in a row, then have a break, but sometimes it doesn't work that way.  I try to breathe a lot, shake off the stress, laugh a little with my colleagues, and be as fully present and engaged with my clients as I possibly can be.  It takes a tremendous amount of energy to give as much as I want to give people.  I am intensely focused during work time.  Soooo....the upshot is:  I am extremely resentful of any encroachment on my personal time.  If anything is going to get scheduled then, *I* am the one who better be doing it.  Know that if I make time to see you during my personal time, you are a very VERY valued and treasured part of my life!