There hasn't been a new blog post in a while for a reason.
I needed a break.
My writer friend came to visit my hometown and stayed a week, leaving just this past Saturday.
Each of us had somewhat difficult situations back home, and considering my family had left me with three pets as they headed to South Carolina, I had an empty house needed filling by a friend.
We both discovered something scary that first day.
For the past few months, neither of us had eaten more than one and a half meals each day.
Sonya (my friend) often ate a small breakfast, forgot about lunch, and remembered dinner. I would skip breakfast, scarf a small sandwich around lunch, and actually ate what you could call dinner.
We'd just forgotten to eat, or stress overtook us, or (in my case) I could either get an extra hour of work in (I'm working four jobs to get enough money to afford minimum apartment rent) or I could spend more time sauteing yellow squash. So the yellow squash went moldy as I wrote another article.
It was depressing when we both came to the realization we, and our other writing friends, didn't take care of ourselves enough.
Writers don't do enough personal care.
We don't. When given the option to take a Sabbath or write another article to pay for gas that month, you can take a guess at what we usually pick.
But I learned something this week. We all need to take care of ourselves. For those reading this: YOU need to take care of YOUrself.
As I realized just how much effort I put into meals because I had a guest, opposed to when I had no one else in the house, I almost broke down and cried. I couldn't imagine treating anyone else the way I treated myself. If I had, I'd have no friends to speak of.
You matter, and you need to give yourself grace.
Please, watch something that makes you laugh; eat something you love. Treat yourself as though you are a guest in your own house.
At least, try to do so for one whole week.
You need to take care of yourself. Your body will notice, and you'll return to the desk more refreshed and ready to write than ever before.