The thing about divorce is that there are ups and downs even after it’s final. I’m actually going through a bit of a stressful time right now. I can’t say much about it, but my appearance speaks for itself. It’s showing on my face and in my body language. My eyes are puffy, my skin is breaking out and I’m not sleeping very well or very much, which doesn’t help anything. Somehow there’s just a light that’s gone off inside of me.
I’m afraid I will start exhibiting self-destructive behaviours, like excessive shopping and exercising, under eating and under sleeping. I’ve experienced them all in the past and I don’t want to go down that road again.
“Don’t let me get depressed,” I told my best friend.
“I promise I won’t let you,” she vowed.
“Don’t let me stop eating,” I told my boyfriend. (Unless I start looking better, I should have added!)
“This is the time to take care of yourself,” he reminded me. “You’ve got to be strong.”
And he’s right. My kids need a strong, healthy mother to weather this storm. So I keep eating and exercising and working and trying to sleep.
Lately, everything has gotten to be a little too much. I realized I was heading down a dangerous path so I took a minute to take stock. And I decided to do something for myself that always makes me feel better.
I treated myself to one of my absolute favourite guilty pleasures: a facial at my favourite spa. Just hearing the running water, being surrounded by calm, soothing colours, putting on that soft fluffy robe and drinking water with orange slices made me perk up. I knew I was in good hands with my wonderful aesthetician, Antonia Lopez. I lay down in my darkened treatment room for my facial and told her all my troubles.
She murmured sympathetically. “Don’t worry,” she told me. “Everything is going to be okay. Just relax and I will take care of you.”
It was exactly what I needed to hear. My mind started to slow as she cleaned my tired, upset skin, exfoliated, steamed, extracted, and massaged my face. During the face mask, she rubbed my neck, arms and feet. Time slipped away. When she was done, she recommended a new facial regimen for me. She hugged me, she rubbed my back like a mother would and she wished me well. I knew she meant it.
When I left the spa, I suddenly felt recharged, revitalized and ready to put my best face forward.
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