Laura Smith Writer

Radical Self Care

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Spring break has arrived and it is time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. That seems an impossible task for me to accomplish as I have a “to do” list a few feet long. Everything that has been left undone since the beginning of the semester is fighting for attention, the taxes, the cleaning, the trip to the dump, and of course getting caught up with school work and spending time with my family and friends. What is left after everything is done is exactly 30 seconds for relaxation, rest and play. Today however I practiced radical (for me anyways) self care. I went and got a massage. Now I know that self care is extremely important. We all read about putting the oxygen mask on ourselves before our babies, but first I must prioritize myself. I must accept the fact that if I practice self care I will be a much nicer human being. Today’s massage proved it. I left the office feeling renewed, happy and calm. The world is a much safer place because I took an hour out of my busy week of relaxing to actually slow down and recharge. I am now watching my two Siberian huskies lounging on their dog beds. They know the art of relaxation, they know how to play, to let go and to live in the moment. Gracie, my white girl, knows the feeling of abandoning herself to mud, of delighting in the world and what it has to offer. Tonight maybe I will follow their lead, I will stretch out, relax, and enjoy some moments of peace before my life speeds up again and I surrender to the chaos.

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● About Me

I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends. 

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