When my kids were little, I knew I should take care of myself. All the books and experts said that we had to be healthy in mind and body in order to be there for our kids. You know, the example with the oxygen mask on the plane? Always put it on yourself first. Blah, blah, blah.

But still, it was hard not to feel guilty for doing things for ourselves, for being “selfish,” and maybe a little too self-involved. Only later did we learn that being “selfish” is really not such a bad thing. In fact, it’s pretty admirable to value oneself and take good care of our bodies and souls.

But I digress.

Hence, back in the day, swimming,  manicures, facials, massages and new clothes were relegated to special occasions. Like holidays, or weddings, or bar mitzvahs.

Well, no more. Nope. That old attitude of guilt for taking care of myself is gone. I’ve changed and evolved as I transition into my middle-aged years. These days I have no problem taking care of myself, or even (gasp!) pampering myself on a regular basis.  Just today, I went to my local nail salon and had a manicure.  Even though nobody will notice or care about Miriam’s mauve (or is it pink or purple?) shade of gel on her nails, Miriam feels great. Just for those forty five minutes, I did nothing but sit there. How cool and relaxing is that? No stress for a change.

We all need this in our lives. Now that our kids are grown up and moved out, we need to really focus on self-care. If not now, then when? No more excuses that the kids need us (they don’t), or it’s too expensive (it’s not), or it’s a waste of time (it’s okay to waste time sometimes! Hooray for doing nothing), or whatever you want to fill in the blanks with.

Faigie Horowitz, writer in various e-zines – one of which I posted last week, wrote again this week about self-care and wellness  in her recent article. Not only does she touch upon self care and wellness regarding manicures, but she talks about self-improvement inside as well as out. Sometimes we improve in small steps and that’s great too. And other times we fix our nails, only to have the nail polish wear off within a week or so. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction to take care of ourselves.

So check out Faigie Horowitz’s newest post  about the importance of self-care for middle aged (and all!) women!

You’ll be glad you did!