Femininity: living intentionally

All the windows and doors are open, with a cool breeze passing through the lounge room. It is early on a Saturday morning – because if there’s one thing I can’t do, it’s sleep in. Yes, even on a weekend.

Now I am more settled in my home and with work, I am motivated by femininity and simple living again. While it didn’t leave my mind completely, being intentional can fall off the radar when there are other things to think about. There are times of transition that require all our energy just to do the things we need to, let alone the things we want to. When you first start a job, for instance. It can take up so much room in your mind that meal planning feels too difficult to implement.

But this past week I have been reminded of where I want to be more intentional. For while some choices are now natural to me, there are others I have sadly neglected.

Something that comes naturally to me now is being able to express my femininity through my wardrobe. After working in retail and wearing a casual uniform, I now work full-time in an office and my outfits reflect that. What a joy to get dressed in the morning and choose from various blouses and floral skirts!

Recently I wore a dress to go grocery shopping and the cashier complimented it before asking if I was going out afterwards. Two years ago, this comment would have made me feel awkward. Instead, I said no, I just like wearing dresses. We then got talking about style and the clothes we like to wear. It was a fun little conversation to have during a “chore”, and it helped me see that embracing my femininity can lead to connection and encouragement.

While skirts are fun to talk about, there are other choices to make that relate directly to our health. This is where I want to be more intentional moving forward.

This past week, I have been getting tension headaches nearly every afternoon and evening. As someone who does not normally get headaches, I was wary. And then on Friday I actually couldn’t go to work because I was so dizzy I couldn’t walk in a straight line. (As Dolly Parton once said, I tumbled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen.)

While there is no way of knowing the exact cause, I have my suspicions. At work I sit inside at a computer nearly all day. While for the last month I told myself I would go for walks and get into an exercise routine, it never happened. I think I went for one (1) walk.

But if my headaches are, at least in part, due to not looking after my body properly, I can do something about it, and that something needs to be implemented immediately. I can’t keep taking panadol and calling it a day. Of course, other factors may be involved. I am still fairly new at the job, and it is probably causing more stress or tension than it will in six months – I am still learning and using a lot of energy to remember everything. There also seems to be a lot of sickness going around in this winter to spring transition, and it is possible my immune system is trying to fight something off.

But even if this is the case, going for a daily walk in the fresh air and sunshine will still do me good.

I know making habits takes a while, but I need to try. I even thought, on the days I don’t manage a solid walk in the morning before work, I can park my car further away so I’m at least getting ten minutes. I think part of the problem has been jumping from work to the car to home without a proper wind-down. I used to enjoy parking my car away from the shopping centre when I worked retail because there was five minutes of fresh air and thinking time after a long day under artificial lighting.

I’m looking forward to making a change. To trying, at least. This is the time to do it!

Sarah xx