Care for yourself with compassion…
One of Duggi’s 10 Rules to raising gr8 kids was; Manage yourself. Care for yourself with compassion (because kids model us).
So today I took a day off work and planned to spend the day taking care of myself. Yeah right!
My day started by screaming at my 4-year old for an hour. He had dressed in warm winter trousers and a long-sleeved t-shirt for a day that promised to be over 30 degrees. He refused to change. Now for you Americans perhaps that makes sense, but to the rest of the world, more than 30 degrees is considered hot!
Then it progressed to him wanting to walk himself to kindergarten, which is not the end of the world. Still, he’d have to cross two roads, and I’d be irresponsible if I agreed, especially without supervision.
I’m finally ready to leave the house at 8:30 for my day ALONE… until I see a water bottle and a lunchbox forlornly sitting on the side. FFS – I take a detour via the school to deliver said items.
Finally, I’m on my way, and there’s no stopping me. So what’s my plan? It was relatively loose, I had an appointment from 10-12, and then I could visit a friend or go to the beach, I’d see what happens.
My appointment was with an old school friend of Duggi’s, she’s an energetic healer, and she had invited me to visit her for a session. I had no idea what to expect, but the word healer was enough to convince me that it was about me.
The session started by us talking, and soon a weight came down on my shoulders, she asked me to close my eyes and visualise my situation. We discussed what I could see and feel, eventually, the emotions came through, and I started to feel the weight lift.
The session progressed to me lying on a bed with my eyes closed, I was not sure what was going on. I eventually lost conspicuousness for a brief time, only to feel more alive—finally, a short discussion about me, my feelings and my need for self-care.
This is a concise summary of my visit, and I don’t truly understand the process. Still, it was extremely emotionally charged, and I felt better. The healer informed me that Duggi’s spirit was with us the whole time and she was there looking out for the kids and I.
I then called another old school friend of Duggi’s who lived in the area. We met for lunch. It was great to sit in a cafe, without 5 children and talk about me, to talk about her and just to have an adult conversation. It felt great, I felt free, like a prisoner on day release.
Then it was time to come home, home to the mess, the screaming and a message that the boiler in my rental unit was shorting—shit, shit, shit and again shit.
I called the local electrician, we climb into the roof, which must have been nearly 40 degrees, and he informs me that the boiler is heavily encrusted with limescale. A part needs to be replaced. And now to the fun part…
We would need to drain the boiler of water, extremely hot water. This had to be done carefully; otherwise, the house would have been flooded. The boiler sits in a shallow metal tray to prevent the water from going everywhere. The water needed to be drained slowly, but the tray itself was not draining (due to bad installation), instead it was leaking onto the wooden boards. I called down for buckets, we filled buckets with the hot water, and I carried them 3 metres down a ladder to the bathroom. Eventually, we fixed the boiler and averted a flood.
The day was going well, I had come home happy. BUT now my back is aching, I’m slightly dehydrated, the kids had a late night, and I’m exhausted… and as I write this, I realise I haven’t eaten dinner, and it’s a quarter to ten at night!
Breathe!