I was woken up after 4 1/2 hours* sleep by Rainbow MagnifiCat and Mousie McMouseface fighting under the bed.

So tired, it took all I had to get out and separate them and rescue the poor baby mouse.

Unfortunately, it got under the bathroom door and under the bath and I went back to bed to attempt to sleep.

I figured with all the kerfuffle, I probably wouldn’t manage actual zzzs but could at least rest a little more.

Partway through some meditation, the kerfuffle started up again so I went back to moving furniture around in an effort to rescue the baby mouse.

I had it in my hands a few times but the poor terrified mite leaped out. I asked its angel, ‘Dear Mousie’s Angel, please help me rescue it’.

It went into Rainbow’s food tray, hid in a corner and let me carry it from where she eats to the front door.

Opening the door, I tilted the tray and Mousie leaped out on the wrong side of the door.

It was like something out of a bad comedy and it then vanished completely. I again asked its angel to help me rescue it, spotted a leaf on one of my trainers so picked it up and shook it off outside the front door.

And Mousie McMouseface scuttled out from the shoe and stopped at the corner of the front of the house to say a cheery ‘Thank you and farewell – I’ll tell the other mousies to stay clear of your lovely home’.

The last part of that sentence was only in my imagination but the fact that s/he leaped out of THAT shoe still strikes me as a mousie miracle hours later.

All this meant that I was playing catch up for an already busy rest of day.

I did an abbreviated version of my usual morning meditation. Didn’t do any yoga or eft for hours and was generally a bit out of sorts.

I have people staying for a while at the moment which is both lovely AND takes me out of my normal routines.

My trying to fit too much in meant I was noticing the feelings of crankiness (but hopefully not leaking too many of them).

I managed to go for a walk up the field to ground amongst the trees before my online work began and that helped enormously.

By the time I got home, I was able to say – not so crankily – that when I finished work, I’d need an hour alone in order to veg out in front of a ridiculous crime drama from a series I like but they don’t (My Life is Murder).

‘That’s FINE’ they said.

I worked, I watched it felt a million times better.

Some days, self care means something as simple as allowing the brain a complete break for just under an hour, curled up on the sofa.

When you think of self care, you might be thinking meditation, yoga, sorting your finances, getting enough sleep, getting outdoors, seeing enough of the people you love and so on,

Sometimes, it’s as simple as an hour of exceedingly cheesy telly.

What does self care look like for you right now?

This has been my focus, work wise, for so many years and I almost take for granted the improvements in my life and how much happier and healthier I am in so many regards.

But that’s the thing I keep telling my clients and supervisees. It’s not something we get forever.

Throw in other people and their needs and my not wanting to be too much / not enough for them and boom.

Our self care needs change all the time and, when we remember to check in with ourselves, we can learn to adapt as needed.

By being as kind to ourselves as possible (even when we’re more Cranky McCrankface than we LIKE), we regroup faster and benefit from the practices we’ve had in place all along.

Big love,

*I take my imaginary hat off to all parents and others who are routinely sleep deprived