Thursday Thirteen

I do not consider myself someone who takes good care of herself. The other day I was thinking of how much work it is to take care of your own person. It is difficult to take good care of yourself and then add caretaking of others on top of that and wow . . . that's a lot of time to put in. It also takes some skill to take care of someone besides yourself and I think this is definitely undervalued. 

My husband and I do not use the same products for everything, we are definitely a "his and hers" household.

Anyway, here are 13 things I do to take care of me and my beloved:

1. Brush my teeth and make sure we both have new toothbrushes, the toothpaste, and floss that we like.

2. Shower daily and make sure we each have our own unscented soaps we prefer.

3. Wash hair and make sure we each have our own unscented shampoos and conditioners.

4. For me, I require unscented lotion. My husband uses specific stuff on his hands in the winter when they start getting chapped.

5. Clip nails and cuticles. I don't use polish; of course I am allergic to it.

6. See the hair stylist for me. He sees a barber because he likes that hot shave on the back of his neck.

7. Go to the grocery store and (mostly) pass up the bad foods and try to purchase healthy stuff. And then fix it and eat it. This one is especially difficult for me as I dislike cooking. I suspect if I cooked better, we both wouldn't be overweight.

8. Wash clothing and keep it looking nice so as not to scare people when out in public. You feel better when you look your best if you're out. I try not to send him out in wrinkled clothes and same for myself.

9. Put on makeup where applicable. (I no longer do this because I can't find anything that doesn't make my eyes water now, but I used to do this every day.)

10. Exercise in some fashion. I walk on the treadmill.

11. Have down time to rest and regroup, whether that's through reading, meditating, or watching TV.

12. Learn new things to keep the ol' brain working.

13. Change the bed linens once a week so that everything is nice and fresh, and wash the coverings every six weeks or so, unless one of is ill in which case they get washed right away.

There are more things I could list - but it is a glorious chore being human, isn't it?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 873rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.