Kit De Luca Says "Take Care of You"

Every now and then I have a Take Care of Me Day.  No errands.  No onerous phone calls.  No laundry.  No tub scrubbing.  No paperwork.  No picking up dog poop.  Nothing, in short, that I don’t thoroughly enjoy.  

(Take Care of Me, of course, is stolen from Kit De Luca's famous line in "Pretty Woman." And by Kit De Luca, obviously I mean Laura San Giacomo, who brilliantly portrayed Kit De Luca, prostitute extraordinaire and best friend of Vivian/Julia Roberts.  Because, y'know, Kit De Luca is not a real person.  To anyone but me.  Sigh.  I love that movie.)

Saturday was a serious Take Care of Me Day.  (And well deserved, mind you.)  First, I took a class on “Being a Buddhist”— three hours of listening to a very engaging Buddhist monk talk about everything from the Four Noble Truths (three of which I remember) to meditation (insight and tranquility) to the difference between being a Buddhist and practicing Buddhism.  I don’t know if I’m going to be a Buddhist or not, but I’m seriously considering practicing.  Which, come to think of it, would be a wonderful way to Take Care of Me all the time, without having to set aside a day for it... 

Then I got a hair cut. Is there anything better than zoning out while someone combs and cuts and combs and fluffs and blow dries and brushes your hair?  No, I say.  No.  I didn’t even turn on my Kindle.  I just sat there and closed my eyes and let it be awesome.

And then I went to dinner with several women from my local Single Mothers by Choice group.  I’ve never met anyone who’s done what I’m planning to do.  In some ways, it was a huge relief.  I don’t know what I was expecting, exactly, but every woman there was totally different from the woman next to her.  Somehow knowing that there isn’t a mold to fit into lifted a burden I wasn’t even aware of carrying.  And then it was exciting that all of these very different, smart, interesting, beautiful women had been brought together by this huge, scary, wonderful thing that they’re all doing.  I’m now even more excited to be a Tryer, not just a Thinker.

Now, there are many things that I would do on a Take Care of Me Day that other people wouldn’t enjoy in the slightest.  Sorting, for example.  I LOVE a good sorting session.  Pulling things out of drawers and closets, sorting them into piles for Good Will and Trash (and, of course, Keep).  I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from sorting and clearing.  And not just because I find things I’d totally forgotten I had.  (Apparently at some point, I bought Photoshop.  Huh.)  But also because I like the idea that there’s someone out there who will be thrilled to have a brand new (well, two years old) Photoshop program that’s never even been taken out of the box.  Now if only I could find someone who wanted all of my keepsake t-shirts from high school...  Anyone want a twenty year old t-shirt with "SAVE OUR SENIOR ROOM!!!" on it?  Anyone?

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What do you do to Take Care of You?   Are there things you love to do that others might think are a total drag?

Comments

[Kat]

I follow you on the sorting thing. Every time I feel down, confused or overwhelmed I start by opening a drawer or cupboard to rearrange things and clear out clutter.
Clutter out of my house = clutter out of my mind.
I like this idea 'from a thinker to a tryer'. I also visited the only woman I know that had a baby on her own and we talked the whole day. She made me feel I can manage it.

[L]

Hilarious. I seem to remember seeing that movie for the first time with you and Amy in San Diego over freshman spring break...no?
I tend to clean the kitchen when I'm stressed. Or brush the cats (yes, weird.) Folding laundry is also pretty good. But the absolute best relaxant of them all is cooking. Not dinner-party-stressful cooking, but a nice, simple meal for me and the husband. Glass of wine in one hand, a spatula in the other, and NPR's "American Roots" radio show playing in the background. Blissful.

[Sarah Fain]

Yes! I'm SO glad you remember that! I'd been trying so hard to figure out when I first saw it... Now I can put my lifetime Movie Moments in order... first held hands in Footloose, first kiss in Ghostbusters, The Big Chill at my Aunt Gene and Uncle Jim's house (didn't love it the first time), Pretty Woman in San Diego with you and A, Thelma and Louise in Sweden junior year. Those were the big ones! Now if only I could remember when I first saw The Princess Bride...

[Sam]

One of my sorority sister's Mom made a big fluffy quilt out of all of my sister's sorority/college/greek t-shirts. I thought that was a great idea for t-shirts that you want to keep but might not wear anymore. Once in a while I break out an old greek week t-shirt and enjoy wearing it with pride.

[L]

Mmmm. The Princess Bride. Junior year of high school, I think. Loved it from the first moment I saw it.

As you wish.

[Rebecca Littlest]

Aww, just watched Princess Bride again with my husband last weekend!! I have a particular soft spot for Grandpa. And it's so funny to hear the dialogue again as an adult and realize that everyone sounds just like an old married couple bickering in traffic...transposed to fairyland. Writer William Goldman is genius!

On a completely different note, I figured that someone reading or posting here might have an opinion on a debate I'm having with my BFF Alice the Brooklyn Librarian. My acupuncturist was recently singing the praises of her midwife to me (even though she ended up having a c-section, she said the midwife provided such great support, etc.). And I just dealt with a very cold-hearted OBGYN -- granted, I was bugging him on a holiday, but I was having an mc, so you'd think he'd muster some warmth. SO, Alice and I were discussing the benefits of doulas and midwives for our future birthing experiences, and I said I've only ever heard of midwives and doulas who will work with women who are committed to unmedicated births with little to no intervention. Alice, on the other hand, was of the mind that doulas and midwives of all stripes exist out there, including some who would like to help pro-epidural ladies like me. (When I had my daughter, I was induced and had to wait through several hours of contractions before the anesthesiologist showed up -- it was like having my insides ripped in two. Not gonna go unmedicated. Big fan of modern medicine.)

Anyone have thoughts -- is Alice right, or am I? Do pro-epidural moms have no choice but to stick with an OBGYN and line up some supportive friends/train the husband?

Just wondering...

[mercury detox]

a Take Care of Me Day.  No errands.  No onerous phone calls.  No laundry.  No
tub scrubbing.  No paperwork.  No picking up dog poop.  Nothing, in short, that I don’t
thoroughly enjoy.  (Take Care of Me, of course, is stolen from Kit De Lucas famous line in "Pretty Woman." And by Kit D