January 21, 2022 — How goes it with you?! Whereas most years we’re feeling rested and raring to roll, this year it seems that all too many of us are feeling physically pooped and battling brain fog to boot. Not good. But, ta-da! In response, Cardthartic is hereby proclaiming this Me Month! (Yes it’s a shame that this proclamation was not made long before the 21st but, hey, just proves my point. 🙃)
The inspiration for Me Month came from two wise fellow walkers that my dog Gracie and I have come to know in the hood. As we were walking along over the holidays, Mara had mentioned that — on the verge of burnout — she’d come up with a new mantra: “I come first.” Not her work, not her husband or all the errands she hasn’t yet run, and especially not her bursting inbox. “Rather than putting everyone who asks something of me at the top of the list,” she explained, “I realized that I needed to put myself there. To stay healthy, I needed to start paying attention to me and my own needs for a change. I need to rest, walk, and eat better. I need to laugh more. So I’m now making a point of reminding myself: I come first.” Hmm.
A few days later, I noticed that Rizzo’s human, Joanna, was wearing a lovely gold necklace from which dangled the word LOVED. When I said, “How pretty!” she grinned shyly and then said, “I bought it for myself.” Wow, I said, that is so cool! Joanna brought her fingertips to the gold lettering and explained, “It’s to remind myself to be as kind and caring to myself as I am to everyone else. It’s not easy, this loving me unconditionally, but so important if I’m going to show my young son how it’s done.” Wow.
Yesterday, this pensive pic of our Cardie Oma Hannlis arrived. The good woman and great friend that is Naomi snapped it while H was busy signing all her valentines. 😍
It sure made me miss her as we used to do her mailings together, and it also reminded me of some wonderful advice Hannlis had given me back in 2019 when she was but 96. “Get better at listening to your body,” the former physical therapist advised. “It tells you when it needs more rest or food or motion. With practice, you can hear very clearly what it’s saying.”
Hannlis had pointed out that, as much as we may wish to, we cannot do at 30 what we did at 15, at 60 what we could at 30, at 90 what’s still possible at 60. “But by learning to better respect the body’s messages like, ‘I’m tired’ — and making a point of stopping to rest and maybe even grabbing a nap — a whole lot more can be accomplished in the long run.” Aha.
I am observing Me Month by sleeping a lot and letting Gracie take as long as she’d like to read her peemail on our now more-leisurely walks. I’ve seen the dentist and the dermatologist and have a good old colonoscopy coming up in a few weeks. I’ve enjoyed a number of cardie-recommended books, laughed and cried through After Life on Netflix, and created my own change of scenery with a few new throw pillows, bright new dishes, and a big, yummy new chair-and-a-half for my “sitting room.” Last night: A massage!
If you’re on board, you’ll see that we’ve curated a collection of “Take care of yourself!” cards to encourage others to make any month their own Me Month. And if you’d like to kindly share with kindred spirits successful ways you’ve found to take care of you, please Leave a Comment below. Right after your nap! 😉 🤗
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
January 21, 2022 — How goes it with you?! Whereas most years we’re feeling rested and raring to roll, this year it seems that all too many of us are feeling physically pooped and battling brain fog to boot. Not good. But, ta-da! In response, Cardthartic is hereby proclaiming this Me Month! (Yes it’s a shame that this proclamation was not made long before the 21st but, hey, just proves my point. 🙃)
The inspiration for Me Month came from two wise fellow walkers that my dog Gracie and I have come to know in the hood. As we were walking along over the holidays, Mara had mentioned that — on the verge of burnout — she’d come up with a new mantra: “I come first.” Not her work, not her husband or all the errands she hasn’t yet run, and especially not her bursting inbox. “Rather than putting everyone who asks something of me at the top of the list,” she explained, “I realized that I needed to put myself there. To stay healthy, I needed to start paying attention to me and my own needs for a change. I need to rest, walk, and eat better. I need to laugh more. So I’m now making a point of reminding myself: I come first.” Hmm.
A few days later, I noticed that Rizzo’s human, Joanna, was wearing a lovely gold necklace from which dangled the word LOVED. When I said, “How pretty!” she grinned shyly and then said, “I bought it for myself.” Wow, I said, that is so cool! Joanna brought her fingertips to the gold lettering and explained, “It’s to remind myself to be as kind and caring to myself as I am to everyone else. It’s not easy, this loving me unconditionally, but so important if I’m going to show my young son how it’s done.” Wow.
Yesterday, this pensive pic of our Cardie Oma Hannlis arrived. The good woman and great friend that is Naomi snapped it while H was busy signing all her valentines. 😍
It sure made me miss her as we used to do her mailings together, and it also reminded me of some wonderful advice Hannlis had given me back in 2019 when she was but 96. “Get better at listening to your body,” the former physical therapist advised. “It tells you when it needs more rest or food or motion. With practice, you can hear very clearly what it’s saying.”
Hannlis had pointed out that, as much as we may wish to, we cannot do at 30 what we did at 15, at 60 what we could at 30, at 90 what’s still possible at 60. “But by learning to better respect the body’s messages like, ‘I’m tired’ — and making a point of stopping to rest and maybe even grabbing a nap — a whole lot more can be accomplished in the long run.” Aha.
I am observing Me Month by sleeping a lot and letting Gracie take as long as she’d like to read her peemail on our now more-leisurely walks. I’ve seen the dentist and the dermatologist and have a good old colonoscopy coming up in a few weeks. I’ve enjoyed a number of cardie-recommended books, laughed and cried through After Life on Netflix, and created my own change of scenery with a few new throw pillows, bright new dishes, and a big, yummy new chair-and-a-half for my “sitting room.” Last night: A massage!
If you’re on board, you’ll see that we’ve curated a collection of “Take care of yourself!” cards to encourage others to make any month their own Me Month. And if you’d like to kindly share with kindred spirits successful ways you’ve found to take care of you, please Leave a Comment below. Right after your nap! 😉 🤗
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
The book I am currently working my way through is called Just One Thing, by Rick Hanson… developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time. The very first practice is “Be for Yourself!” Fits perfectly into Me Month! Good for us….
January is a perfect time for “Me Month.” We made it through Christmas, the red and green is stowed away and it is a brand new year. Thank you Jodee and Hannlis for that reminder. Still I am reserving the Super Woman title for months 2-12 to come. Whew – need a nap just thinking about it!
My theory is ‘Just keep swimming’ or doing whatever activity you like to do because exercise is the best way to tell your body ‘YOU ARE LOVED’.
I co-lead a 2x/month ladies’ life group at my church. My co-leader and I have scaled back to 1x/month and we begin our 2022 program next week. I feel good about this small “putting me first” change, as I still get to connect with fellow friends and prayer warriors, just in a scaled-back version. 🙏💖
Your beach card spoke to me today as the wind chills have been in the -40’s lately. I went to college in little Bemidji, MN from 1970-74. The lake was across the street and out my dorm room window. We based our spring classes on “sun” time and wore our bathing suits under our clothes. The ice wouldn’t even be gone but our toes still tried the water. Even in the gorgeous but bitter cold winter the skies were so blue . Very few of us had a car. We didn’t need one. A bus ride was 25 cents and coffee was a dime. Nature and college, what a deal. I had a date who would pick me up with his snowmobile and across the frozen lake we’d go. Spring and fall were indescribable in in their beauty. Every so often I do the 2 hour drive and the closer I got the more my shoulders relax.The only thing missing is a dog who is my goal this year. I can’t wait for spring and hopefully a symphony concert. All’s well, all is well… My me time.
i suggest we extend
ME MONTH
into february as it is
the LOVE MONTH ♥
and we are loving ourselves ♥
i just finished an old book
of ann patchett’s —
“THE PATRON SAINT OF LIARS”
it was one of those books
that when you are finished,
you just sit in your chair
thinking about it.
that says it all !!!