If my January were to have a word of the month – it would be “Comfortable.” If I were to have a dollar for every time, I have used it. I would be rich. If I had a dollar for every different situation in my life, I have used this term, I could get a good bottle of wine. And we are nine days in. I have always, always, always been a firm believer that any kind of nakedness – you need to be comfortable. Comfortable with yourself. Comfortable with the people that you are getting naked with, and comfortable with the setting. Last thing you want to do is strip down and have some naked fun – in whatever capacity – if all three of those settings aren’t being met. Of course, I have blogged about pushing these comfort zones – and that is a little bit of a grey area. But usually at least two of the three “comforts” have been established.
No one wants to get naked when they aren’t feeling great about themselves. Body image is a big blocker for me. I am sure for a lot of people as well. How am I expected to go get naked in front of others when I am not even comfortable getting naked alone? Or with my husband? I wrote another blog a couple months ago “Uncomfortable being Comfortable” and I think this blog has evolved into a rebuttal of that. For those who didn’t read that blog. Shame on you! Joking! I even reread it before posting just so I could give everyone a quick synopsis in case I forgot to link the blog when posting. But long story short – Jay and I hiked down to a hot spring – I didn’t have a bathing suit – even though I usually bring one just in case the situation isn’t 100% comfortable to go naked. I am most comfortable being naked in a hot spring (from a physical point of view) – but this instance – I was quite uncomfortable (from an emotional point of view) because of how the situation unfolded.
There’s that word again. Comfortable. And I think to my January – and how I am being comfortable being uncomfortable. And that’s GREAT! On the one hand – we are a week into full renovations on our new house. We have missing walls, tackling a leaky chimney, and moving bedrooms only furniture almost on the daily. When people ask how I am managing all the chaos – I just explain we do our best to make it comfortable. Our bed and blankets – regardless of which room, angle, area, we are sleeping that night tries to remain the same. Comfort. Don’t get me wrong, its uncomfortable, but with that little bit of normalcy, I can find comfort in it. And really, this was the trigger – do prompt us to take a break, put down our tools, and go explore our new town.
We realized, despite my “Nude Year Resolutions” and own commitment to being more purposeful of my nakedness – I haven’t… In my defense, when you’re missing a wall, have the baseboard heaters unplugged to paint or tear down drywall – it is a little chilly, and a little hard to not have a sweater and pants on. But at the same time – I also realized, we haven’t disconnected and relaxed. Jay might not ever relax. We’ve been together for just over six years now, and I don’t think I have ever seen him relax, but I needed to disconnect from the stress and uncomfortable renos and we went for a drive. And not just because I wanted to be comfortable getting from my home to a grocery store without GPS. Although that helped.
One of the contributing factors of moving to the city we did was its proximity to some of our favorite areas to adventure. Price was obviously another major factor. But being close to all the lakes, trails, roads, etc., that we spend our weekends, definitely a plus. As I said, three weeks in and we haven’t visited any of these locations yet, but between renos, holidays, and weather, a worthy excuse. But we decided on a sunny morning, to go explore. No new locations, but a quick drive to an area we are quite comfortable with for a fire and some hot dogs. A location we went to on our anniversary adventure last year – and a quick opportunity to strip down and embrace being naked in nature. Even if it was so cold it was uncomfortable. So cold that really other than a few photos I was covered in a blanket. But it's the thought that counts right?
There is just something about being naked. Even in the winter. Even hidden under a blanket. Not for modesty but warmth and comfort. Yesterday I was hammering out an order for our Etsy and in random conversation while packaging it up, Jay asked where this order was going, to which I responded “Arizona” and he replied with “lucky, they can get naked all year round!” Which isn’t wrong. We still need it to be 15 degrees (Celsius) warmer before I would comfortably spend an afternoon naked – but not opposed to being a little uncomfortable stripping down to scout out new areas for the summer.
Thinking back – maybe my word of the month should be uncomfortable. And not just because of my sore back from all the yard work over the last couple days. But I appreciate my own optimism picking comfortable. Not saying I enjoy the back pain, the body image issues, the cold weather preventing me from getting naked whenever I want, or the house in full renovations. But I realize that everything that is uncomfortable, I can find ways to make do. Some are as easy as an ice pack, realizing its my body my rules, a nice blanket, or my pillow and bedding. Either way – being comfortable with being uncomfortable is part of pushing comfort zones, and really learning who you are, or who I am, and not to add a seventeenth metaphor into this run on sentence, but you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.
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