Taking Time to Reconnect with Myself

By Susan “Honey” Good

I walked in on my ultimate concierge. He was sitting at his desk.  I blurted out, “Shelly, I have been married to you for 26 years and you have never heard me say, ‘I am so very tired.’ Everything and everyone else comes first and I have forgotten about myself. I want to get away and reconnect with me.” He stared at me with a worried and shocked look on his face. I continued with some drama-rama, darlings.

“I would like to go to a mythical and magical place, like Shangri-La, where people live a long, healthy life.” First, he laughed, saying, “You are so dramatic.” I continued, “I feel I am wilting.” He was now speechless, this talkative husband of mine.

He finally said, “Would you like me to take you to the Golden Door?” My eyes opened wide and a big smile spread across my face as I replied, “You would take me to the Golden Door?”  I told him I would love that. Just then my iPhone rang. It was Leila, my manicurist. reminding me I had an appointment in 15 minutes. The one weekly pleasure I give myself and I have to be reminded by a phone call to come darlings? Something was not right. I had lost my way.

My health and well-being used to be a priority. I rarely missed a day on my treadmill. I peacefully had a quiet breakfast with my husband. I took Orchid for an early morning walk that always ended with a run up the Museum of Contemporary Arts’ 25 steps, where we plopped ourselves down, Orchid nestled tightly into my body, to watch as the world went by. Taxis and buses and people racing while we relaxed in our aloneness. I was happy. I escaped into great novels and talked on the phone with girlfriends. I shopped at the market and in stores with deliberation. I took my time with planning our calendar, now I forget to send back the reply envelope and call at the last minute. My life was out of balance. I knew it.

I needed to slow down and calm down and figure out how to combat the negatives dismantling my lifestyle. At the Golden Door, I accomplished my mission. I was deliberate. I knew the lack of nourishing the inner and outer me had taken its toll.  I knew who and what my culprits were because these type of culprits that throw off one’s lifestyle don’t occur overnight. They build. You know that. The issue was to attack these culprits with solutions and come up with a new plan. I accomplished this at the Golden Door.

I spent much of the week, because I had the time, thinking about how not to be ‘last on my hit parade.’ How could I live a more peaceful life without giving up everything I loved? I committed myself to living a healthier emotional and physical lifestyle.  I found my way at the Golden Door.

And, because I share my private thoughts with you (it makes me happy) I will share my solutions whereby I can ‘still have it all.’

1. I blocked a few people off my phone, email and text. I had never done that before. I feel so much better and I might add, powerful, because I took a proper stand.
2. A wonderful woman who I have known for years and who makes everyone’s heart sing is going to become my personal assistant because Honey Good is growing and I cannot keep up. I want to spend my time doing what I love most at HoneyGood.com. Writing my musings and answering your comments.
3. No more personal trainers for me. I will take classes at a gym in stretching and whatever else I might enjoy. I will also begin walking on my treadmill 45 minutes daily. I can no longer walk Orchid. She is too ill and I would not enjoy walking alone.
4. Calm breakfasts with my ultimate concierge and my new Robot, Alexa, playing Hawaiian music or Mozart while I munch on my daily avocado, pomegranate seeds, one egg or a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with raisins and slivered almonds.
5. I’m adding a facial, a body scrub, and a monthly wax as well as a weekly massage to my routine. These are healthy habits that should become part of our lifestyle. Darlings give up material possessions and pamper the outer you.

I hope my story is teaching you how to treat yourself. I hope you are getting an idea of honing in on who and what is actually worth the investment of your physical and emotional time. I know you know when things are too much for you or not right for you. Respect your body. Respect yourself to leave relationships, a job, a friendship, a lifestyle that is no longer healthy.

My ultimate concierge came to my rescue and I am grateful and appreciative he understood what was going on in my life and could afford the luxury of the Golden Door. I am a most fortunate woman and I am fiercely thankful. I take nothing for granted. I find joy in nature, in the quiet of the day, a kind word from a friend or associate, a text from my grands,  a lesson learned and now my darlings… please come along for the ride, a meaningful relationship with myself.

How do you go about reconnecting with yourself? How do you get back on track?

Susan “Honey” Good is the founder of HoneyGood.com where this blog originally appeared. The site is a collection of lessons learned, life advice and insights from not only her, but from a fantastic group of contributing writers, each adding their own spice to the recipe. Honey Good.com representing “a family tree of women” — wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters, aunts, cousins and girlfriends — coming together to talk about what makes them tick as well as what they have in common. Honey Good discusses life experiences with wisdom, humor and intellect, enabling all to attain a “Honey Good Style of Life.”