The Airport Reset

(Pillar: Wellness for the Rest of Us)

✈️Between flights, family, and fibro flare ups — I’ve learned to lower the commitment bar and raise the self-care. Wellness doesn’t have to look pretty and include pampering; sometimes it’s a neck pillow and a refillable water bottle at gate B6.

There was a time when I believed wellness had to look a certain way — structured routines, consistent movement, and quiet mornings. And while those things have their place, life has a way of reminding us that sometimes, wellness simply looks like showing up for yourself in small, quiet ways.

For me, right now, it looks like catching flights between caregiving visits. Trying to sleep in beds that aren’t mine. Managing fibro pain while managing hospice logistics. It looks like softening the expectations I set for myself — and realizing that care can be as simple as staying hydrated, stretching in the security line, or taking five deep breaths before boarding. Today, I am choosing my rest and resets over the “should's.”

Because when life is heavy — when you’re caregiving, traveling, hurting, or just trying to keep your head above water — wellness isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what you can, and letting that be enough. This season of life is tiring, and I am scared, sad, and overwhelmed all at once. But I’m learning that care doesn’t always mean control — it means compassion, especially towards myself. It means letting enough be enough - and being sooo okay with it!

So if you’re in a season where everything feels like too much, maybe your wellness looks like less too. Less doing. Less proving. Less pressure. More gentleness. More grace. More humanity.

I’m giving myself permission to pause… even in motion. Even as I fly to my stepdad, to write his obituary while he’s still here; to select music for his celebration of life with his blessing; and to be present in this beautiful walk beside him.

With flights, family and fibro flare ups, I’m seeking peace wherever I can — even if it’s in another airport terminal.