Yet again, what a week! Just as I was starting to envision the next few months of adding Yoga Teacher Training to my days, Thursday night we got the email we had been waiting for since late February-we had finally been matched with a dog by the Lab Rescue! Everything since then has been a blur, really, as we quickly cleaned up, ordered pet supplies, and spent most of Saturday travelling back and forth to  NoVa to get him. Bruno is a sweetie, and despite very little structured training from his original owner, he is settling in very well. We are doing plenty of leash training, and learning that we are safe in our crate at night and not being abandoned, and the kids are learning that if we don’t want to wind up our large and powerful pup, we have to stand tall and calm.

Sadly, much of my own personal needs and self care has been neglected. I’m writing this Friday, because I wrote it yesterday and through a technological fluke, lost it. I don’t even know. It feels like a metaphor, though, for how things have gone for me the past week- I have a lot of newness on my plate with the dog, and due to that, a lot of what I need personally for myself has slipped through the cracks and vanished into blankness. Let’s break it down and figure out how I can do better going forward.

Nutrition: I have basically been in survival mode the past week, eating what is quick- but without having prepped anything because *exhausted*. I haven’t been tracking, because I have basically been a zombie, and have missed many meals because I literally didn’t have the brainpower to come up with one, or even the drive to make a smoothie. This is not good. We have managed not to eat out this week, other than our usual Taco Tuesday, and I feel good about that.

Going forward, I need to really be intentional about this next week’s food prep, even if it means asking Scott to help me chop veggies. I also need to go just one short step further and put together containers of everything that goes into my lunch salad- veggies, chicken, etc- so that no matter how tired I am in the moment, it’s literally dump and eat. I hope to get back to a place where I am free enough to cook for lunch a couple days a week, because cooking is something I really enjoy, but right now is a time of major adjustment with starting a new school year, my YTT, the dog, and the uncertainty of the pandemic. I need to be kind to myself and not ask too much. There is so much time for allthethings and I want to *enjoy* where I am and not rush to be somewhere else.

Rest: *blows raspberry* Having a new rescue  dog, especially one who was not given structure in his bedtime routine in his previous life (his foster mama was so great, though, and worked with him a ton) is a lot like bringing home a new baby. Sleep is not immediately easy. Scott has carried the bulk of the burden of actually getting up and helping Bruno re-settle in the night, but it’s still been a challenge for me, and the days have been foggy and bone-weary. I am going to be intentional this weekend about getting some extra sleep, and next week I am going to be willing to put myself to bed early if needed, because I need to get my life back. I can’t just shuffle through my days like I have this week.

Exercise: My period started the night before we went to pick Bruno up, so there is another factor in this crazy exhausting week. The good news is I practiced yoga Sunday, even on the first full on day of my period, even less than 4 hours into dog mommahood, and every day of this past week of having him here, he’s made sure I walked a fairly brisk 2-4 miles a day. I have not gotten on the bike or strength trained- partly due to my period, and yoga has been less consistent, but I am getting back on track with all that as I teach and create routine for Bruno and my kids. It’s just a lot of newness and adjustment. I’m really hoping to follow a version, at least, of my normal fitness flow starting on Monday.

Note: I almost managed to hold crow pose for more than a full second the other day, which is progress toward my next big yoga milestone.

Self care: I have not had a shower since we brought Bruno home, so, yeah, that’s how that’s going. I have washed my face and brushed my teeth most mornings, though. Other than that…so not good.

No fancy improvement strategies here other than to just treat myself like I matter. Scott used that phrase when he was showing me how to leash train Bruno.

“he needs to know you matter.”  My immediate response mentally and emotionally: How can I show him that, if I don’t even know or believe it myself?

I need to treat myself like I matter and in doing so, I will communicate this to others and start to believe it myself. It’s a whole thing and we all need me to do it.

Soul Care: Well, I have done better about this than showering…but not much. I have sat down with my bible a couple times, I have prayed on walks, I have had a great therapy session, but I am hungry for more food, spiritually. I need the time in my bible and prayer and meditation and filling my head and heart with truth. I am really going to be more intentional about not allowing soul care to be the first disposable item in my morning.

Body Image/Love: I haven’t had a lot of time to feel grumpy about my body this week, so that’s something, I suppose. I really want to feel stronger and more graceful and all these things, but I recognize this week all that my body gives me in response to all I ask of it. I notice that it heals quickly when I give it good nourishment and that it grows stronger when I use it well and rest it well.

This week I love my body because it is learning to tell me more clearly what it needs and what nourishes it well, in all areas.