Rx for Wintering Well #3
Peek Perspectives Wintering Edition 3
Hello, friends! I hope this week finds you warm and well wherever you are.
If you’re just joining us in this space on your wintering journey, I’m so glad you found your way here. We have been exploring the ways that winter invites us into a slower, more intentional, meaningful season. This season of resilience beckons us to be more mindful of our bodies, more intentional with our mental and physical health, and to cultivate more habits that promote overall wellness.
Even though you know me as your friendly pharmacist, I am not just here to dispense medication tips…truly, movement and mindset are the best medicine (with the least side effects)! In this edition of our Wintering Wellness newsletter, we will delve further into the mindset of "wintering" – a concept that goes beyond merely enduring the colder season … but instead, embracing it.
In today’s edition…
I. Rx for winter wellness
II. Rx for a winter read
III. Rx for winter reflection
I. Rx for Winter Wellness:
What if we romanticized the mundane daily tasks this time of year and made them feel like a special routine we truly looked forward to? What if our daily skincare routine felt luxurious, even if simple? Cold weather can be harsh on our skin, and there’s no better time than now to put a little extra thought into the way we take care of it. Skin is our body’s largest organ and the barrier that protects us from the outside elements.
Take the time to truly care for your body each day, instead of rushing through a routine that you dread (or skip entirely). Here’s a simple place to start:
Cleanse: Use a gentle facial cleanser - not a harsh soap - to wash your face as you wake up in the morning and just before bed in the evening.
Treat: Identify one area where you need extra care. Whether it is dark aging spots, oily pores, or a dull complexion, identify one area to focus on giving yourself some extra pampering. That can look like a targeted daily serum and/or a weekly facial mask.
Moisturize: Use a great moisturizer on your face and neck… and don’t forget your hands too!
I recommend this brand as a leader in using only safe (and effective) ingredients. As a pharmacist, I not only care about the safety of what we put in our bodies, but also what we put on our bodies…and unfortunately, the skincare industry in the U.S. is highly unregulated when it comes to safety. Beautycounters’s advocacy for more health protective laws within the skincare industry is something I am proud to be part of.
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II. Rx for a Winter Read:
I polled the audience, and one thing is clear. We love a good story, especially to nourish our mental health during these long, cold months. Another thing is clear though… many of you don't have or make time to read, but wish that you did!
Pro tip: If you can’t read with your eyes, “read” with your ears! Between Audible and Amazon Prime, the options are endless. BUT here’s another *free* option through your local library… the LIBBY app! I love the feel of holding an actual book, but the reality is that I’m more likely to find time to “read” while walking my dog, sitting in the school pickup line, or even folding laundry… again, making the mundane tasks feel more desirable during these long, cold months.
Transport yourself to another place in your mind with one of these recommendations from the Peek Perspectives community:
Nonfiction
The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)… the true story of the 1936 crew team that inspired a nation…and a movie!
Fiction
The Great Alone // The Nightingale // The Four Winds ( all by Kristin Hannah) … recommended by several readers!
Self/family enrichment category
Everybody Fights, So Why Not Get Better At It (Kim & Penn Holderness) - for couples
Habits of the Household (Justin Whitmel Earley) - for young parents
*Feel free to keep sending your recommendations my way! I’d love to share an even more diverse range of authors and genres in future newsletters!
III. Rx for Winter Reflection: Stop enduring. Start embracing.
This week, we awoke to freezing rain and an inch of ice covering every surface in sight. It was a real life scene from my daughters’ favorite movie, Frozen. This meant no school and no chance of leaving the house, as our long driveway was a solid sheet of ice. It also meant three energetic girls, two working parents, and a restless Golden Retriever were stuck inside all day.
After our dog begged and pleaded all morning, I reluctantly opened the front door and tossed a ball out onto the frozen tundra, hoping she would do her retrieving without me having to step foot outside. But as I watched her slipping and sliding across the driveway towards the grass, I started to laugh. A dog on ice skates was quite a sight.
The more I watched and laughed, the more I kind of sort of wanted to join her. The next thing I knew, I was telling the girls to grab their coats, boots, and hats and to join me outside. We skated out onto our very own ice rink, twirling, sliding, and laughing as we rode the perfect slope from our house down the driveway to the bridge over our creek. I texted the other Dr. Peek to come join us on his next quick work break. And he did, in his house shoes…which made perfect skates.
It was quite the family affair. 3 kids out of school, 2 parents who needed to work, and an energetic Golden Retriever… who were not stuck inside on this icy day, after all.
Once we embraced the cold and stepped out into it, we stopped dreading it. We just needed a simple mindset shift to realize that we weren’t stuck inside at all. We had instead been handed the gift of an unexpected day at home together…and a chance to practice our ice-skating skills ; )
What mindset shift do you need to make in this season?
What are you dreading that you could instead be embracing?
If it’s the cold weather, find a way to get outside and make the most of it. A mug of hot tea and a blanket by the fire feel even better after ice skating down your driveway, trust me…
If it’s the lack of festivities during this post-holiday season, make a cozy reading corner and dive into a good book.
If it’s the loneliness, reach out to a neighbor (better yet, take last week’s Winter Neighboring Challenge) and see where it takes you.
Let this winter compel you to embrace all that it has to offer, instead of simply enduring it.
Until next week, cheers to Wintering Well…
Dr. Peek
P.S. Have your best new years intentions already been derailed by real life?! It is okay. Tomorrow is a new day. Begin again. And again and again and again. Habits take time. Change requires grace.
I would have loved to see y'all ice skating!!
Good job this week DaughterLaw.