It’s September 14th and another month has flown by full of never-ending work here at the shop and on the farm. I am trying to find some semblance of joy in running two businesses, plus a farm and a B&B, but I must admit it is tough at times. Hands down I work too hard, but these are choices that I continue to make, and I make them because I genuinely get excited about the details of each of these choices. I honestly do love everything that I dip my hands into, but my body is telling me something different these days. Truth be told, it told me the same thing last year, and I kind of listened to it for a minute, but then went about my business as usual. Bad move, really bad move.
In the spring of 2020, in peak pandemic times, I was exercising up a storm like the rest of the world and, I must have pushed myself too hard trying to “work out” all of my anxiety because I gave myself a hernia. When I was finally able to get a diagnostic ultrasound and subsequent surgery last September, I was forced to slow down while I was healing. This was not easy, I did not do well with being told to stay in bed: no cleaning, no watering my plants, no picking up a bag of groceries, and definitely not picking up my granddaughter.
My healing went far slower than I wanted it to, and I wasn’t doing myself any favors trying to get back to normal faster than my body was able. I am impatient at the best of times, so this was torture. It took about 6 months before I was back to my pre-surgery self, so, by March, I was starting to feel pretty good. Then bam!.... I did it again! I pushed myself too hard raking a bunch of gravel,and now I have a hernia on each side. Maybe hernia number one was lonely.
My stubbornness to work too hard despite my husband and my body telling me not to, and my very, work- driven sense of self is physically hurting me now. This is not good. Hard life lesson number one million and one. Something’s got to give. What is it going to be? I guess that’s a question for when I’m bed ridden after surgery number two.
I realize this is not the most cheerful newsletter, but life isn’t always a bed of roses. Time for some carrot ginger soup, a castor oil pack, and some wild orange in my diffuser to help me to feel a wee bit more cheerful!
Instructions for a castor oil pack for abdominal pain relief:
What you’ll need:
- Castor Oil
- Healingscents Muscle & Joint Synergy Blend (optional)
- A piece of undyed cotton or flannel that you can fold three times over your abdomen
- A piece of saranwrap or garbage bag
- Some medical tape to hold the bag or saran wrap in place
- A hot water-bottle
- A container with a lid that will fit the cloth
- Old clothing and an old bed sheet that you don’t mind getting stained
Putting your pack together:
- Take your cloth and place it in your container
- Add Muscle & Joint Synergy Blend to the castor oil - if you have a 1/4 cup of castor then use about 90 drops (this makes roughly a 5% dilution)
- Saturate the cloth with castor oil/eo blend, but not to the point where it is dripping wet
- Place cloth over your abdomen, cover with plastic bag and tape in place
- Heat your hot water bottle and place over pack
- Allow the pack to rest over the area for 45-60 minutes
- Watch re-runs of Downton Abby or The Queens Gambit?
- After you’re done crying at the plight of fictional TV characters, you can soak your castor soaked cloth in 3 tablespoons of baking soda to 4 cups of water and store in the fridge until your next pack
- Bring your pack back to room temperature before your next use and you’re good to go!
Depending on your specific health/pain issue, you can do this once a day anywhere between 3 – 7 days a week.
Yours as always in love and aromatics
Leah xo