On Resistance Through Self Care

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is a self-care day for me. It is my form of resistance.

In the interest of care of myself, I am going to go ahead and say that I am not watching the news, reading the news, checking on my news feeds or paying attention to what’s going on in DC today unless it has to do with my niece and nephew who are currently sick with what sounds like the flu.

I am both protecting my peace and protesting by finding joy today instead of marinating on the fuckery that is about to commence for the foreseeable future.

But don’t get it twisted! I will commence being vigilant to protect myself and my family and loved ones tomorrow. I had to regroup, but the marathon continues.

But on this MLK day, I will not let the foolishness happening at noon today mess with my peace.

ANYWAY.

One of my goals this year is to see people in real life. That means family and friends. It means going to events, it means trying new things, having lunch, coffee, supper clubs and in-person hikes up a mountain.

I started off the year by driving 30 minutes to see my friend Jen. The amazing thing about Atlanta is that we are all here, but that we all never see each other because everything is so spread out and we all get comfortable in our little corners of the ATL metro.

But I’m tired of being a hermit. I am determined to fix that this year because it makes no sense and frankly, I want to have real-life conversations offline with a lot of people rather than in the DM’s.

Because these social streets are changing…and not for the better. So I’d rather have connections OUTSIDE of these apps rather than rely on them to keep me up to date. I don’t want to hear about a life event in an IG post. I want to already know about it in advance before my friends feel comfortable to share it with the public.

Real connections friends. That’s what I want this year.

Anyway, afterward, I was going to go to the mall and grab something from Sephora, but Barnes and Noble was right there, and I couldn’t resist.

I haven’t set foot in one since either the year of the pandemic or before. It was so nostalgic going in and strolling the aisles in no hurry whatsoever. I browsed, I picked up a few books, and put a few down. I read a chapter of a book and added it to my pile, I ate a cookie, sipped some tea, whittled down my pile of books to three to purchase, and headed home.

It was lovely.

All that to say, I need more days like Saturday.

I need more days when I get to speak freely with like-minded people over coffee and cinnamon rolls, where I stroll a bookstore aimlessly and then spend too much money on books.

Self-care this year means finding joy wherever I can.

This morning, I’m headed to Pilates( a new joy), then I think that I’m going to give myself a mini facial and start the massive cleanup of my master closet. ( pray for your girl) and record a podcast episode for tomorrow. Then, I will spend the rest of the day finishing up Iron Flame (I’ve got about 40% to go) in prep for the release of Onyx Storm tomorrow. Self-care and books. I mean.. fabulous, right?

Anyway. Hope you have a restful…peaceful..day…

Links and things from the Internet

This post contains affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, if you click on a link and buy something, it helps me to continue to write here and maintain the bookclub, the blogs and the podcast. Thank you in advance.

• In light of TikTok being “banned” and then back less than 24 hours later, this substack from Lucrecer reminds us that THIS AINT YOUR HOUSE.

• My favorite house shoes finally fell apart. I replaced them with this pair that are nice and fluffy , but firm. Sounds weird but they work.

• It’s MLK Day, go re-read or read for the first time his Letter From Birmingham jail. The Boy’s Literature teacher had them reading and annotating it last week and it was a feel-good moment for me.

• Sister Peri ushered back in acne. *throws all the things* Nothing that I normally use was working, but this acne spot treatment from Kiehls that I discovered is a MIRACLE worker.

• Proof that you are never to young to try to make a difference: I loved this story of the 14 year old behind the Altadena Girls Instagram page.

Ok that’s not all, but I’ve got to go get ready to go to Pilates. In 19-degree weather.

Again, remember today and for the days to come, to protect your peace in any way you know how, but also, don’t give up.

As Kamala Harris said in her last public event: " our work is not done."

Ok friends, talk soon.

LaShawn