Yesterday there was a beautiful Zoom meeting with Liz Lamoreux and a bunch of people who have participated in previous session of her HERE classes. I was in my studio. My table was all set up with a bunch of pretty pens including my gorgeous fountain pen I got for Christmas. I had a pretty notebook and some nice, hot coffee. The conversation was wonderful, the poems she read were just right (she always reads us poems). By the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over. Because my gorgeous desk chair, the one I searched everywhere for and put in “notify me†requests at multiple companies and paid a lot of money for five years ago because it was so perfect--my chair hurts my body.
I have been fighting against accepting this for a long time. I've tried different things to make the chair and my body compatible. It's not happening. I am sad and kind of angry at my body, and I don’t really want an ordinary, ugly office chair. But I need a chair that will hold and support me properly. Sometimes we have to do the needed thing even when it’s not the wanted thing.Â
The new chair is really pretty (I wanted the brown version to go with my slightly vintage feeling studio, but for some reason that one didn't sit the same way as this black one, and my body was uncomfortable in it, and we could not find a way to adjust it to make them match). It's very comfortable, although I think it would be better with lower casters to bring it down a smidge (I am SHORT!). I'm going to give it until next weekend to make sure that overall it's good before I go altering anything.
So. This is self-care. Doing the things to get and stay healthy. Doing things that are good for you like getting the supportive chair and letting go of the dream chair. Making real food instead of eating ice cream for dinner because it's hot. I like to mention this kind of self-care now and then so I remember what it's all about.
Now, I'm going to go spend some time in the new chair working on a few small projects.
Also, in case you're looking for some new creative play for summer, this year's ICAD (Index Card a Day) is starting on Tuesday, and so is a new session of Here: Five Things.
Until next time,
Kim
I so understand the chair thing and comfort. I don't know how many I tried. I hope it works for you.
Thanks! I just feel like chairs shouldn't be so complicated, darn it! LOL Fingers crossed for this one.
Oh I get the chair thing completely! I am tall.abd so finding a chair to work for me is a nightmare. We bought one, just before covid and it broke, had a real problem getting a replacement, but we managed it just before lockdown and I'm so happy as I spend MOST of every day sitting in that chair doing my art and blog posts. It's so important to be comfortable, it's the best self care you can do for yourself.
I'm so glad you found a replacement and that it's working for you! Having a comfortable place to work from is so important.
"This is self-care. Doing the things to get and stay healthy." Thank you for writing and sharing that. I needed to be reminded that it's not just about taking a bath and polishing your nails!
Also...I think the search for the perfect chair is a universal issue. I'm glad you found one that might work for you! 🙂
I am happy to be not alone but also astonished at how many of us have a hard time finding a good chair! And I also need those reminders that self-care is taking care of the sometimes boring or hard but good for us things as well as the pampering (but we need the pampering, too!).
Chair are such an important thing, but I understand the "fuck this body for making me change what I like" feeling.
Self-care has many faces, and this was one of them for you.
I am trying to remind myself that my body is what it is, and it's the chair that's not right for me, not something wrong with me. But I still really do love that pretty chair. 🙂
"This is self-care. Doing the things to get and stay healthy." Ah THIS!!! The thing I don't do because it makes others uncomfortable. The thing I don't do because I feel (fill in the blank with [underserving. inconvenient. a hassle])
Thanks for writing this post and reminding us that we need to do this for ourselves.
Oh! Sending you lots of love on this. You deserve to take the best care of yourself you can. If others are uncomfortable about it, they probably have some stuff to examine. I hope you (me too) can find your way to more of the good stuff and taking care of you.
Yes! Self care: doing what is needed even if it's not what is wanted. I love that. I wonder if you've chosen to keep the new chair. I agree...I love the look of your old chair but your new one also looks nice and supportive.
I am not fully decided on the new chair. I think it might actually be a little too tall for me now that I've had a chance to sit in it for longer periods. I'll try it out a couple more times, but I may have to exchange it on the weekend.
*currently sitting in IKEA armchair* yeah totally get the chair thing. I had the best office chair for years until one of the wheels literally came off and it couldn't be fixed, so now I'm in this chair that is not at all suitable but nothing I can do about it atm. Your chair on the left is gorgeous though but doesn't look like it offers much support (says the woman in the armchair lol) Are you doing ICAD too? Awesome, I am too, can't wait to see what you do with yours. Elle xx
A good chair is so important! The pretty one on the left is actually quite sturdy, and the cushion is nice and thick. The problem is that I have wide hips, and those little wings at the bottom of the back of the chair keep me from being able to sit all the way back. They push me forward just a bit and make me sit awkwardly, so the whole thing just doesn't work. And I'm finding the new chair is too tall after all, so it will be going back to the store, and the quest continues.