Keeping it Simple

It has been an exhausting week. I've worked 48 hours at work, and so did not get much of a spring break. So much stuff I wanted to get done that didn't. I love my job, I love helping women but sometimes I feel like it's going to consume my whole life, when I need to focus on other things, like V-Day for instance, or getting into grad school or taking my dog to the park. Maybe I should take a step back for awhile. I think when you work in social services, your life and individuality starts to bleed into your work, it becomes a part of you just because of the sensitive situations you constantly find yourself handling. But you have to be able to step back, to harden your skin, and be careful not to get too emotionally involved. If I let every case of domestic violence get to me (which some of the more severe ones do) I'd be crying at work all the time and never get anything done. Not only that, but in this area you find you are constantly giving of yourself to others, because they need love, they need all of the compassion and support they can get. This sometimes leaves us empty, bled out, with nothing left to give to ourselves, nothing left to sustain us.

"I told myself I was strong enough

That I had plenty of blood to give
And each elbow cradled a needle
But listless and faint ain't no way to live" ~Ani Difranco, Swim

So when I feel this way, I do what one of my coworkers used to call "pushing my reset button." She described it as doing something, just for you, that can re-energize you and get you out of the funk you're stuck in. So I got nostalgic and bought....a Backstreet Boys concert DVD.

Yep, that's right. And before you look at me shamed and horrified, let me just explain that I bought it not necessarily because I'm still a fan (although, let's face it, I really am) but more that the Backstreet Boys were a staple part of my girlhood. Sometimes it feels really good to just get back to the basics, and nurture your inner child (or in my case, my inner 'tween dork). Why? Because it's fun.

In light of that confession (try not to laugh too hard) I would urge each of you to think back to something that really made you happy as a kid. Even those of us who had dark childhoods have that one thing that makes them jump up and down and giggle. Whether it's a Disney movie, a favorite game, or a place that makes you feel safe, (or a 90's boy band) that's your reset button.

I've never written something like this because I used to think that every single blog entry had to be a well-thought out argument about feminism, and thus was writing about once a month. Then I realized, this is a blog, not only about feminism but about me. And since I practice feminism in my everyday life, I hope each of my experiences reflect that. That means opening up and revealing things about myself that make me the woman I am. So, I want to send an unabashed thanks to the Backstreet Boys for their small part in making me that woman.
P.S. - Thanks to Sarah for watching it with me when no one else could and appreciate it the way I do :)

Enjoy: