I recently read something that Michelle Obama said and it really stuck with me. She said “Well, I just started thinking, if I had to get up and go to work, I’d get up and go to work. If I had to get up to take care of my kids, I’d get up and do that. But when it comes to yourself, then suddenly, ‘Oh, I can’t get up at 4:30.’ So I had to change that.” We’re all guilty of not prioritizing ourselves right?

My theme for the year is ‘taking time’, but honestly I haven’t been very good at taking time for myself (except for this past Sunday morning when I enjoyed a fabulous birthday treat from my hubby at Nob Hill Spa). So this week I decided to start doing a better job at putting myself higher on my own ‘to do’ list (to paraphrase Michelle Obama) and honestly what a great week it’s been.

Running has always been my go to exercise, mostly because I actually enjoy it, but I haven’t been running very consistently of late. This week however, I made a point of taking advantage of the glorious weather and longer evenings and spent an hour or so running along The Embarcadero each day. This evening was especially fun as there were hordes of A’s and Giants fans making their way to AT&T Park to watch spring training. I also got to enjoy the music of a very entrepreneurial young fellow taking advantage of the festive (and hopefully generous) spirits of the fans by playing his clarinet at Brannan Street Wharf. Another busker playing guitar and singing Wagon Wheel also got my attention as it’s the first song on the Best of Old Crow Medicine Show album, which was recommended to me by my dad and which I’ve been listening to on repeat lately. I’ve even discovered their radio station on our Sonos app which I’m listening to as I write this.

I’m also finally engrossed in my book, Old School by Tobias Wolff, which I must have started and put down at least a handful of times before this week and which has been sitting on my bedside table for longer than I care to admit. I even took my full lunch hour today and sat in the sun reading – this is something I’ll be doing a lot more often!

Prioritizing me and all of the things that I enjoy doing has meant that, of course, the grocery shopping hasn’t been done. Luckily however, one of my absolute favorite things to do, is to go out for a delicious meal with my hubby. So last night, we wandered along Market Street, which was a hive of activity with the colorful streetcars rambling by and what must have been at least a seven piece band (drums and all) performing mostly for the enjoyment of one homeless man unashamedly blocking the sidewalk while jamming along to the beat, and ate ramen at KATANA-YA which, since our first trip to San Francisco in 2014, has been our go to Japanese restaurant.

And, this evening I’m sipping red wine, planning my trip to Croatia in May and writing my blog and feeling that this week was really well spent!

So although, like many, I have a job and a seemingly endless ‘to do’ list, bumping myself (and the things I actually enjoy doing) up that list has certainly resulted in a more enjoyable week for me and although I will of course have to go grocery shopping eventually, I do plan to keep this trend going.

I hope that you’ve had a great week and that you have a wonderful weekend!