101 Stories About Self-Care and Balance: Making Me Time

366 Pages·2021·4.5 MB·english

by  Amy Newmark

Changing the world one story at a time®
www.chickensoup.com
Table of Contents
Introduction
~Mind, Body and Spirit~
1. My Name, Melissa Face
2. Hello, Me, Cosmo DeNicola
3. Tanning Lotion and Trails, Lauren Barrett
4. Check Your Sole… Um, Soul, Anne Russ
5. Me Time Zone, Anneliese Rose Beeson
6. Hold That Thought, Monica A. Andermann
7. From Loss to Freedom, Laura M. Martin
8. A Splash of Insight, Lynn Kinnaman
9. Rest in the Present, John Kevin Allen
~To-Do and You~
10. The Birds and the Bees, Kat Gottlieb
11. Stop Juggling and Put Something Down, Ann Morrow
12. Never Disappointed, Jon Peirce
13. The Discipline of Doing Nothing, James C. Magruder
14. A Daily Hour Just for Me, Barbara Lehtiniemi
15. Dinner with Kay, Brenda Beattie
16. Remember to Remember You, Joshua J. Mark
17. Fifty and Fabulous, Tyann Sheldon Rouw
18. Shinrin-yoku Is Good for You, JC Sullivan
19. Not Mad, but Madly Happy, Gina Gutzwiller
~Accept Help~
20. No Superheroes Here, Brynn Mahnke
21. Sharing the Load, Judy Salcewicz
22. Recharging Batteries, Jonet Neethling
23. An Unexpected Gift, Wendy Kennar
24. Put On Your Mask First, Carole Brody Fleet
25. All Things Food, Diane Stark
26. Surviving and Thriving, Terry Hans
27. The Ladies’ Breakfast Club, Phyllis Cochran
28. Finding Time for Me, Wendy Portfors
~Self-Discovery~
29. Running the Race for Me, Amber Curtis
30. A Lost Librarian, Lori Shepard
31. The “Me” That I Am Left With, Jack Byron
32. What Do You Need, Son? Ankit Raghuvir Rao
33. Letting Go of the Reins, Stephanie Nikolopoulos
34. Alone at the Kabuki Baths, Lynn Sunday
35. A Case of Shaken Identity, Marilyn Haight
36. Deep Breath In, Deep Breath Out, Dana Drosdick
37. Learning to Take Care of Me, C. Ede
38. Slow Cooking, Slow Living, Pam Gibbs
39. Trail of Hope, Annette Gulati
~Self-Care Isn’t Selfish~
40. Somewhere In-Between, Kim Hanson
41. Permission to Joyride, Rebecca Radicchi
42. Farmer’s Hours, Kristiana Pastir
43. One Day, Wendy Hairfield
44. Grace over Guilt, Diane Stark
45. Finding My Footing, Joan Bailey
46. Better Reader, Better Mother, Better Me, Courtney McKinney-
Whitaker
47. Refilling the Bucket, Wanda Strange
48. The Day I Saved Myself, Kristin Baldwin Homsi
~Declutter, Detox, Defend~
49. Giving Thanks by Letting Go, Maggie John
50. The Day I Banished Busy-ness, Kim Forrester
51. A Working Man’s Chuck-It List, Timothy Martin
52. A Little Housekeeping, Connie K. Pombo
53. No Service Means No Worries, Noam Paoletti
54. Forever Changed, Jonney Scoggin
55. The Cleanup, Judee Stapp
56. Learning to Read Again, Robert Kingett
57. Me First Beats Martyrdom, Barbara Davey
58. Out of Breath, Dawn Marie Mann
59. The Six Months Test, Pauline Youd
~Giving Your Time with Joy~
60. Patched-Together Positives, Jeanne Zornes
61. The Cheerleader, Susan Jelleberg
62. Self-Care Found in a Library Basement, Jill Keller
63. Redefining Doing It All, Haley Moss
64. Being Intentional about Self-Care, LaQuita Jean Starr
65. Counsel Walking, Sister Josephine Palmeri
66. Reaching Out, Margaret Lea
67. Finding My Way Back, Connie Kaseweter Pullen
~You Deserve It~
68. My Own Beat, Stephanie Doerr
69. Should Today Be a Pajama Day? Marlys Johnson-Lawry
70. Just Us, Amy Newmark
71. Imaginary Holidays, Ann E. Oakland
72. The Face in the Mirror, Crystal Schwanke
73. Doing It for Me, Jennie Ivey
74. Time to Play, Tanya Janke
75. Girl’s Trip, Monica A. Andermann
76. Cereal for Dinner, Shannon McCarty
77. It Was a Belly-Binge Kind of Day, Dr. James L. Snyder
~Personal Space~
78. The Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever, Karen Sargent
79. The Best View, Anna Jensen
80. Let It Go, Cassie Silva
81. A More Balanced Life, David Hull
82. Cozy Corner, Lisa Leshaw
83. One Piece at a Time, Jennie Ivey
84. The Glad Game, Polly Hare Tafrate
85. Adventures in Meditation, Phyllis Abate Wild
86. Three O’Clock on Phantom Lake, Ilana Long
~Pursue Your Passion~
87. Escaping Insomnia, Debby Johnson
88. Wanted: Me, Butch Holcombe
89. My Holy Hour, Lola Di Giulio De Maci
90. Digging Holes, Barbara Sue Canale
91. Me Again, Meeg Pincus Kajitani
92. Reconstructing Me, Betsy S. Franz
93. Dancing with the Anxiety Monster, Juliet Huang
94. Not Available, Jayne Thurber-Smith
~We Time~
95. A Suitcase and an Adventure, D’ette Corona
96. Alone Together, Diane Stark
97. How Do You Want to Spend Your Time? Melissa L. Weber
98. Looking Forward to Those Lily Pads, Kristine Byron
99. The Sneeze, Anne Wandycz
100. Cabin Life, Tamra Anne Bolles
101. My Ladies of the Lake, Louise Butler
Meet Our Contributors
Meet Amy Newmark
Thank You
About Chicken Soup for the Soul
Introduction
I
f there’s anything we’ve learned during this pandemic, it’s that life is
unpredictable and nothing is guaranteed. You’ve got to live it with joy
while you can. And you’ve got to spend as much time as possible
with your favorite people while you can, devoting those hours to the
people who mean the most to you and add the most value to your
life.
This new collection of stories focuses on how you can live your
life most joyfully, by deliberately creating time for yourself — me
time, time with your most important loved ones (we time) — and by
taking care of yourself. Self-care, work/life balance, pursuing your
passions, decluttering your home and your calendar, and treating
yourself as well as you would treat a guest are all covered in these
pages. They’re all things you know you want to do; we’re going to
help motivate you by showing you how other people did it — and the
consequences of not doing so!
One of the themes that you’ll see in these pages is the importance
of getting outside in nature. I know that’s what I’ve been hearing
about the most from my friends and family and neighbors.
Everyone’s been saying things like “Wasn’t that the most beautiful
spring you ever saw?” or “Weren’t there more birds singing this
year?” or “Were there more flowers on the trees this year?”
Maybe the spring of 2020 was unusual, or maybe we were just
noticing it because we were finally forced to be less busy. I know that
the shutdown gave me time to really look at the trees on my
property, and the bird nest outside my front door where I monitored a
robin couple as they raised two sets of babies. I even got to watch
the babies fly for the first time. Yes, I was there for that very event!
And I got to watch the family of tiny birds on my rear patio, too,
seeing the first flight of every single baby from that nest one summer
Sunday.
Then, in the fall, I was transfixed by the activity in a large hickory
tree at the beginning of our driveway. One day I stood under the tree
and little green bits of hickory nut shells floated down around me as
if it were raining. I could actually hear dozens of squirrels gnawing
the shells off the nuts up in the tree. It was truly fascinating. That
was something I wouldn’t have experienced if I hadn’t been “stuck at
home” instead of going to the office and returning home after dark.
Getting outside means freely moving our bodies, gaining the
perspective of being a tiny life inside a much larger world, and
breathing the same air as the ancient trees that have seen it all and
will still be standing when we’re gone. It’s the most powerful tool I
know to reset your heart and soul. You’ll read a lot about the
transformative effect of walking out your front door no matter the
season of the year or the season of your life.
This pandemic is going to leave a legacy, not just of loss and
economic problems, but of renewed focus on what matters. We hope
you’ll take some “me time” to enjoy the stories in this new collection
and to implement some good habits of your own as you move
forward in life.
— Amy Newmark —
November 16, 2020