be a succulent wild woman

I was looking for hair conditioner when I found a set of toiletries hubby gave me some time ago. Wild thing that I am, I pulled them out and said “What am I waiting for?”

In the shower, I scrubbed my knees, elbows, and feet with sea salts and washed with yummy shower gel. After I dried off, I used the matching body lotion. It smelled great.

I poured myself some mint water over ice and sat down to dry my hair and surf the net.

Aaaaah . . . a spa experience right in my own home.

I have an appointment for a massage, a badly needed succulent treat!

I have an appointment for a massage, a badly needed succulent treat!

all by myself! I usually have it done at the salon, but I know I am not going to have a chance to go there before the new semester starts. So, was Igoing to go back with faded color and roots showing? No way!

I bought some L’Oreal in a pretty red, and went into the bathroom to apply it. I was congratulating myself on my neatness until I saw what I had spattered on the wall. :/

As I rinsed it out, I prayed that it would not come out clown red, but it is a very pretty reddish-brown, a bit darker than I get at the salon but quite satisfactory and quite close to my actual natural color.

This is my first attempt at coloring it myself, so I have not only gotten rid of my roots, I have added another skill to my repertoire. Emergencies only, though—my bathroom would never survive too many of my coloring sessions!

lately.

I have been working my fwatouli off this week, but YESSSS! The committee I was chairing has done its job, and I am FREE! So I plan to do something succulent today . . . a nice swim in the pool should to the trick!

Now that Nick and I are settling into our new life, I have time to mourn the husband I have lost. Yesterday I was gathering stuff for Goodwill, and I found an old jacket of his with a car rental receipt in it. As I looked at the receipt, it took me back to November 2000.

I had gone out of state to see about my mother, who had had a stroke. When she died, Nick rented a car (his own was a bit of a clunker) and drove to be with me. I remember answering the door at my mother’s and seeing him there, big and comforting. I am not sure I have ever been so glad to see anyone.

I will never have that husband again, and I cried for the loss.

But I do have a husband who needs me very much, and I can and will look forward at our new life even as I mourn the loss of the old.

As a succulent wild woman, I give myself permission to feel all my emotions, and then to move on with the life I have to live.

My birthday is coming up at the end of this month. My sweet hubby used to spend entirely too much on me, and we would have cake to celebrate my birthday.

Well, another year is still something to celebrate! We will have cake, and I will buy my own birthday present! A succulent wild woman does not pity herself because her life has changed, she makes whatever life she has into a celebration. And that is just what I intend to do.

Today, I lit scented candles and incense in my living room. Before my hubby got sick, I used to light candles all the time. Why not now? Incense I don’t use very often, but this is a special incense that an Indian friend brought me. It smells yummy and exotic.

what being a succulent wild woman means to me. I will come back and edit as I think of more to add.

1. I take care of myself as lovingly and diligently as I take care of others.

2. Take time for reading and relaxation.

3. Have friends and enjoy them

I have just been through the worst personal tragedy of my life with my husband’s illness, coma, near-death, and now, his disability. So yes! I need to be wild, I need to be strong, I need to be succulent. Life is precious and juicy, and I am going to enjoy every second I have left with my sweetie.

All this has brought out the wild woman in me . . . I left my job for four months and camped out in hospital waiting rooms. I lived out of a duffel bag and took showers when I could. I sat in front of a whole roomful of medical people and told them that yes, I was taking my honey home against medical advice, that he was not going to a nursing home.

Hear me roar, baby!