Tag Archives: tired

Time for a Little Self Care

Coming off a very busy week after an incredibly busy weekend hosting the first annual Fat Activism Conference. Over 30 hours of content with over 40 speakers in 3 days! Followed by two days this week of meetings and proposals and general running around regarding the next projects to come down the pike. I’m so excited! But…

But I’m continually surprised by how long I really need to recover from some of these things. Sure, I took a day off after a very intense weekend like I had. I knew I’d be tired for at least a day. But after age 40 after going like crazy for a week and not really getting any good sleep, I kinda have to remember that one day of resting up just might not do the trick.

At the end of yesterday’s meetings and running around, I found myself spent. Like eat a PB&J for supper and sleep in my clothes spent. And I’ve decided that today, I would finally listen to the messages my body is screaming at me and take a little break.

Maybe I will get a massage. Maybe I’ll fit in some time for meditation or maybe just a nap. For sure I’m going to take time to find myself something wonderful to eat–something that nourishes my body and my soul. Because helping to change the world, even a little tiny bit, is a whole lot of work. And we have to remember that caring for others requires that we have energy. And having energy means that we have to have time and space for self care.

It’s like the old adage about the airplane oxygen mask. Make sure your mask is secure before you start helping other people with them. It’s not about being selfish. It’s about understanding that your effectiveness to help may be severely diminished if you are flopped over on the seat, gasping for air like a fish.

I am incredibly inspired by the speakers I heard this past weekend. I feel more motivated than ever to do the work that needs to be done to make the world a safer and better place for people of all races, ages, shapes, sizes, types and abilities. But this work will not be done in a day or a week. It won’t even be done in a year or a decade. So I’m going to stare at puppies and take a long nap. I’m going to eat something fabulous and listen to awesome music and dance in my undies. I am going to do what I need to do to rebuild my energy and gird my loins. So I am once again ready to fight the good fight.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

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Love Your Body Week TRAVEL Edition (sigh…)

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Baby elephant metaphor day 2. Yup, last night and this morning’s travel kicked my butt. Not gonna lie to you. Started out in Harrisburg, PA at around 6PM EST last night and finally got to my home in my bed at 4:00 AM PST (That’s 7AM EST) this morning. Wanted to get up early but was feeling like that little elephant guy in the picture up there, with my head under the pillows, saying, “I don’t wanna get up and you can’t make me!” That, my dear friends is why you are getting The Fat Chick Sings After Dark Edition.

I was really pleased and proud of the way I got through things last night though. I got through the first leg of my trip okay and landed at Washington Dulles right on time. Our flight for LA boarded on time and we just got settled into our seats when we heard an announcement.

The pilot told us there was an issue on the plane but they thought they could get a deferment. He said that the deferment would probably take about 30 to 60 minutes. I was bummed but determined to just stay calm and make the best of it. Ten minutes later the pilot made another announcement. He said that he was told the deferment, if we could get it at all, would take much longer. So they found another plane we could take to LAX. Unfortunately it was a long way away in another terminal. A lot of people groaned and complained, but again, I resolved to make the best of it.

We hiked the 15 minutes to the other plane, and as we went a lot of people were still angry and complaining. But I KNOW it could have been so much worse. A lot of people in the last 3 or 4 days have faced delays of 10, 12 or even 24 hours. In the past, people have been trapped in their plane on the runway for 2, 3 or even over 4 hours while repairs or mechanical adjustments were made. So I decided to see this as a minor setback and a chance to stretch my legs. After about a 40 minute wait, we all boarded the new plane (in exactly the same seat configuration) and soon got underway. All in all, we arrived about 50 minutes late into LAX. It was pushing 2AM by time I got my bags. But I got back to my husband safe and sound, and all was good with the world.

So many times I have faced situations like this with anger and frustration. So many times in the past I have cursed and muttered and fretted. But this time I made a special effort to be calm and to make the best of it. And you know what? It really did make things better. There were plenty of people around me who were plenty angry. But they didn’t arrive in LA even one minute sooner than I did. In fact, the trip probably seemed a lot longer to those folks who were really mad.

So I took that as my karmic lesson for yesterday. I decided to take a deeeeeeep breath and just roll with it. This is one of my real-life resolutions for this year, and I think it’s a good one. So what do you think? How do you cope with life’s copious pain-in-the-butt moments? I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or stories.

By the way, The Fat Chick’s internal clock is infernally messed up right now. Expect schedule changes from my usual posting times for blogs, videos, The Right Now Show and hours of consciousness. There are will be no meal vouchers or refunds available. Thank you for your patience. That is all.

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. Speaking of travel, the Fit Fatties are aiming for Vegas baby! Help us gather those few hundred miles needed to get us to Sin City by Friday. Click here to learn more!