Real Catholic Beauty, is knowing WHEN to Pamper Yourself

RCBpamperyourself

Real Catholic Beauty, is knowing WHEN to Pamper Yourself

By Rita Davidson

Facial anyone? Coming from a beauty background I LOVE facials! Going back to my Cosmetology classes we would all look forward to “Facial day”. Some of us loved manicures instead and others loved pedicures but Facials are still my favorite.

These days everyone is getting a mani or pedi, as they are called. I have to admit, with our budget (which is $0), I have no funds for such a luxury – yet. LOL

But that doesn’t mean we have to skip feeling pampered.

Now some of you might be saying WHOA – hey, what does THAT have to do with getting to heaven and saving our SOULS?

HA! Gotch YA

Well, it DOES have something to do with saving our souls, let me explain.

I’m going to take a wild guess of my readers; some of you are mothers, like me, with many little kids under your feet. Some of you might have real small kids, but many of you, like me, have older kids, and maybe a little of both. And some of you are grandmothers, who have put in your time of duty and looking to spoil the next batch coming up under you. LOL

For those that don’t know me, we have 7 children our youngest being 5. So I still have little’s under my feet, you can see my sidekick Liam, on my Facebook page. He’s a real joy to my life. We also have 3 disabled boys and life can sure get challenging.

Some of our days, our boys simply get irritated for some unknown reason. The latest was because we OPENED the windows. (yup after a winter of having them closed, this is a BIG CHANGE)

So, one irritation ticks off another and you can easily see how they can all get going here. Living after our fire in 600 square feet, was almost a nightmare for them with so little space. We have one non-verbal autism, one high IQ autism and one high functioning autism. Looking at them so many people can’t see anything wrong with them and expect so much more than they are capable of. On the worst days, some are all about taking ONE BIG BREATH. Whew

If anyone has seen the INCREDIBLES cartoon, yes, I am “Elasti-girl” these days. J

While not all of you have our crosses you sure have your own. Some of you have sick loved ones, others are working overtime to make ends meet, changing jobs, dealing with estranged children, watching loved ones suffer. I know how hard it can be and there is never an end to the crosses God will send.

We try to be faithful, we try to pray, we get tired.

Then the guilt sets in. Maybe it’s from some well meaning relative, but the guilt says, “you must sacrifice your comfort, you must give up your luxuries – to become a Saint.”

YES, I totally agree, we all need to do MORE penance and MORE sacrifice.

BUT and this is a big BUT, God does not expect the impossible from us.

This was told to me by a priest once knowing all we already have in our life. What is important is that FIRST, you do your daily duties as well as you can.

That means those dirty dishes, that growing laundry, those daily prayers. Those mundane tasks that we repeat day after day after day. When ALL your daily duties are done, (whatever they might be for you in your life), then and only THEN, are you free to pamper yourself with something that will refresh and re-energize you.

So, all you guilty mamas who are holding off on pampering yourself a little. Take heart; if you are doing your daily duties well and your spirit is getting worn from the crosses – it is TIME to PAMPER!

Remember; we ALL are going to have crosses. Even if we get rid of one cross, we know God will find another to send us right? So, while we do all in our power to save our souls, we must find ways to re-energize too so we will have the energy to fight the next battle, the next cross.

Have you ever seen yourself, worn out by lack of sleep, juggling babies and maybe a medical emergency and your mind is just like pudding? Then, money gets tight, a crisis appears and suddenly you find yourself saying ‘OKAY” to cheating on your taxes? Or cheating on your spouse?

Your shocked? Well don’t be. Christ came to save us sinners and us Catholics can be the worst of them.

You see how that happened? Our bodies get worn down and so tired that it affected our WILL to do the RIGHT thing. We must never let ourselves get to this weakened state. We always want to have the strength to do the RIGHT thing.

That is why #RealCatholicBeauty includes PAMPERing. It’s preventative medicine for the soul. YUP!

So many of us wait until it’s too late and find ourselves in burnout, like me. That is not doing our best to take care of the body God gave us. We ARE Temples of the Holy Ghost. Remember we are not religious, but lay people living in the world.

Ladies I will be expecting you to do a Facial soon (or maybe you will take up knitting again, or crochet, or doing your nails?)

For today for me it’s Facials, so for those that don’t have the budget for this (or are too stingy to do it LOL ) here is my version:

Rita’s DO IT YOURSELF “Preventative Medicine for the Soul”, PAMPER DAY:

Gather all your favorite tools, (add your favorites to this list):

  • nail polish & remover (if you want to do your nails too?)
  • handcream or footcream (one of your favorites, I LOVE the Young Living cream)
  • facial mask (hydrating or brightening whatever skin needs right now)
  • candle, (really sets a lovely ambience)
  • book (or no book, but maybe you need a funny book, a great novel, or a prayer book)
  • favorite drink (go healthy with water, or spoil with fancy Café Latte)
  • Ipod, or go NO-digital. (some of us need to
  • Chant music (I love the new BENEDICTA, but whatever relaxes you)
  • Blanket (or none if it’s too HOT)
  • pillow
  • essential oils, (Lavender is lovely, Bergamot is refreshing, Peppermint is invigorating. Join my team HERE and get your own essential oils and learn how to use them!)

PAMPER DAY:

  1. Pick a day after you are done your chores (be reasonable with yourself, if you are really worn out, just know it’s ‘time’.)
  2. Pick out your favorite Mask. I’m using #Glamglow one of my Go To favorites for brightening and tightening.
  3. Take a long hot shower or bath, get hubby to keep the kids quiet or provide them with treats of their own while you relax. Some days I love to do this with them right around me when they are quiet playing.
  4. Put on your favorite relaxing clothes (ladies this still means a skirt! HA) I love wearing a comfy knit maxi and big baggy shirt.
  5. Find a quiet spot and chair. Maybe outside or inside ? With your favorite book, or crossword book, or whatever you find relaxing to do.
  6. Settle yourself in and start by putting your mask on. Smooth it out where needed. Then wait.
  7. Some masks are 5 minutes, some are 10 and 15. If you have a hydrating mask, you could even apply this twice.
  8. An added touch is soaking your feet while you have your mask on. I’m so lucky to have my hubby who keeps refilling my foot tub with hot water. 🙂  You could even enlist one of your kids. Use some relaxing essential oils like Lavender in the foot bath.
  9. Feel the stress melt-away. 🙂

FacialsRita

Yes, that’s me with my #Glamglow mask on. Join me on HERE on Instagram where I posted this last week. My mask was so tight I couldn’t smile! LOL

So, my fellow Catholic ladies, what is your favorite way to pamper yourself? #RealCatholicBeauty knows WHEN to PAMPER yourself. Have you been guilty of burning yourself out like me? SHARE your thoughts with us here!

Do you LOVE these tips? Post here and tell me what other “RealCatholicBeauty” tips you’d like to see? Makeup? Skincare? Hair care? Modesty?

With love,

Rita Xo 🙂

©Copyright 2015 Rita Davidson & Little Flowers Family Press All Rights Reserved.

RitaBiosmRita is a Catholic wife, and mother of seven, with three autistic boys.  Author, of “Immodesty, Satan’s Virtue” (2001) and speaker, she has a PASSION for making #realcatholicmodesty understood. She is a licensed Hairdresser, and Make Up Pro with a degree in Natural Health who enjoys essential oils. She enjoys making people smile and sharing God’s love with anyone who will listen. After overcoming a stroke, disabilities, they lost everything in a devastating house fire that made them homeless for six months. She is determined to lead souls back to Christ by finding the #realcatholicbeauty in their lives by carrying their crosses with Joy!

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