Take Care
Self-Care:
Leisure neighborhood bike rides - Hunter Blvd (beautiful tree-lined street), Alki Beach, Lake Washington Blvd, Myrtle Edwards Park
Sitting in the grass in a park - bare feet on the grass, lay down and stretch your body out as long as you can make it and hold for a second, try noticing the
Picnics - fresh nectarines and berries, nuts, crackers, bring a vase for fresh cut flowers, bring a book/magazine/journal and small pillow and blanket
Try to make yourself nice meals and snacks:
Watermelon, Lime Juice and Mint smoothies - blend all together, maybe add some ice
Avocado, Tomato and Cucumber on a toasted baguette
Baked Brie & Apple with Lavender-Honey Panini (Whole Foods has bags of food grade lavender for $1.99)
Walks spent collecting stray flowers (bring a pair of small scissors in your bag) and looking at all the homes thinking of who lives there. North Capitol Hill and Queen Anne has some crazy houses to look at. Walk the Burke Gilman Trail along North Lake Union.
Dip your toes in the water - Madrona/Mt. Baker waterfront along Lake Washington Blvd has lots of good spots. If you feel up for it, floating on your back in the water does something crazy special. Sit on a dock and stretch. (Mt Baker Park has a great dock for that)
Get a coloring book or a notebook for painting still life watercolors. Inspiration
Explore a new neighborhood - Queen Anne, Georgetown, Alki, West Seattle
Car rides out of the city - hike Mt. Si or Rattlesnake Ledge, go to Olympic Rainforest, Port Townsend, Lake Wenatchee, explore the small town of Sprague or go to the Thorp Antique Mall
Hot Springs - this place only lets 10 people a day and is $10, but epic. You just need to reserve in advance: http://scenichotsprings.blogspot.com/
Day Trips to Portland or Vancouver - staying for 24 hours or even just driving in for the day can still feel like a big event. Even Spokane and their Rose Garden at Manito Park, and , or Hillsboro Antique stores
Window Shop at new stores - Beats and Boho in Phinney Ridge (clothing and some home goods), Bon Voyage in Pioneer Square (clothing), Pacific Galleries in Sodo (Ginormous Antique Mall, could spend several hours there), Swanson's Nursery in North Ballard/Crown Hill (huge plant store with a cafe)
Night swims
Fancy rituals - make golden milk (turmeric with warmed nut milk and some honey), or some special tea in the morning, make your routine for getting ready for bed crazy luxurious (putting lotion on and laying with a steamed wash cloth on your face, sleep with an eye mask and mist your pillow with a good essential oil spray), journal and make lists to empty your brain, spend 15 minutes stretching before you start your day. Think of what nice things you would do to pamper someone who was sick and do those. Use a heating pad or make a sick bed, play a nostalgic movie.
Always have something scheduled soon that you are looking forward to - a hang with friends, bbq, or some event/trip
Try to pay attention to the sky - the stars, the moon, the clouds
Watch a favorite movie properly - with popcorn, lights off and a comforter/blanket - take a minute to make it comfortable and feel nice
Literally take the time to talk to yourself as if you were your own parent or partner - try to find ways to start saying encouraging things to yourself to counteract the negative internal dialogue. Talk to yourself in the third person, whatever works. Really think about being your own friend. Work on slowing down and being gentle with yourself.
Wander the downtown library - try different local libraries, too.
Walk through Pike Place Market, Post Alley, through Pioneer Square - Occidental Park
First Thursday Art Walks in Pioneer Square, but several other nights in other neighborhoods - list here: http://seattleartwalks.org/
Farmer's Markets around town, list here: https://www.thestranger.com/things-to-do/2018/05/29/26788239/your-guide-to-seattles-farmers-markets
Eat meals outside as much as possible - use any close, available outdoor space for breakfasts, dinners.
Try getting up super early when folks aren't up yet and get outside, even for just a minute - the stillness can be really beautiful
Make a list of your recent accomplishments and read them back to yourself as if you are describing someone else in an attempt to see all that you've done through fresh eyes
Reassure yourself that your reactions are valid and normal - you are a perfectly healthy person and it is human to emotionally respond to the things around you. Try not to judge your responses, further compounding them.
Set small goals and plans, challenge yourself for the feeling of accomplishment.
Do small DIY projects around the house: https://www.pinterest.com/michelleahenley/make-things/
Think back to times you feel nostalgic about, a time where you feel you maybe liked who you were more and remind yourself that you are still that same person, you still have a chance to love them
Go somewhere beautiful, it totally makes a difference and matters - The Arboretum, Discovery Park, the views from Magnolia Park, Golden Gardens, Kubota Gardens, Volunteer Park (and the conservatory),
Swing on some swings
Play tennis, kick a soccer ball
Go swimming at the Ballard Pool
Go to the Frye Art Museum - admission is always free
Get produce from the markets in the International District - get fresh young Thai coconuts and make a smoothie
Rent a canoe from the UW Boat Center or Kayak, or Stand up Paddleboard at Green Lake
Go river floating with some snacks and booze - Snoqualmie River via Fall City or Yakima River (which has some good meadowy stopping points)
Take care of your personal space, it makes a difference. Set a time limit and do a quick, loose clean if it feels to overwhelming to start - oftentimes I end up doing more after I trick myself into at least starting.
Find a way to have animals in your life
Find new routes for your typical day-to-day travels
Take yourself out to dinner at one of your favorite places or to a concert or movie
Check out what is going on at the Seattle Center
Go to an outdoor movie screening: https://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/seattle-outdoor-movie-calendar-2018/
“to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.”
Listen to Discover Weekly on Spotify or try new albums
Read the newspaper or Stranger - look at upcoming events
Board game nights, make a fort and lay on the ground in comforters
Play basketball at the Madrona Playground (not that many people)
Set up a hammock (you can find them super cheap online) and read a book or have a cocktail
Let yourself get soaked in the rain, then take a long, warm shower
“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it’s yours.”
Take the ferry and explore somewhere (Friday Harbor)
Roll down a grassy hill as a grown ass lady - Magnolia Park has some good hills for that
Go berry picking - http://fallingfruit.org/
Start a flower or vegetable garden
Take a nap outside
Day spa - Hothouse or some other place with saunas and steam rooms
Make an effort to check in with yourself multiple times a day - am I tired, am I thirsty, do I want to move, am I uncomfortable (have I been at home with my jacket and shoes on for a long time)?
“The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”