Am I Being Selfish?

Yesterday I didn’t go visit my sister-in-law, L, in the hospital.

For the last twenty four hours I’ve been questioning myself if I did the right thing.

Let me rephrase that.  I know I did the right thing.  For me.  Is that selfish?

My husband and I spent from 10 am til 6 pm on Labor Day at the hospital where my sister-in-law had surgery.  She had several blood clots in her left leg.  It was a very serious situation.  She had another surgery on Tuesday and went home yesterday.

I just couldn’t go yesterday.  I know my limits.  We are on ten hours mandatory overtime.  The hospital is 45 minutes away.  I would have had to leave here by 9 am and be to work by 1 pm.  I gave myself four hours because of traffic and whatever else might happen.  If she would have been to the hospital in town I would have easily gone.

Honestly I have been dragging butt all week and I needed to sleep.

I did what was best for me.  Is that selfish?

It feels like it to me.  This is what I am struggling with lately.  As I try to figure out who I am after menopause, I feel more needy.  Not as in the whiny needs to a two year old (well some days…..), but as a woman coming into her own I am more aware of what my needs are now more than I ever have been.  That said, I am also aware of how I put my needs above other people’s needs.  Even my husbands.  There are certain situations where I tell him he has to fend for himself because I want to write or do what I need to do.

I put myself last a lot over the past 53 years of my life.

Putting myself first is new territory for me.  It feels weird.  When you put other people first you know what they need because they tell you.  When you put yourself first you actually have to know what you want and be able to put it into a sentence.  I want/need to sleep.  I want/need to write.

Sometimes I don’t know what I want.  I know I want something, but I can’t put it into words.  It’s just a feeling.

My husband and I will go visit L on Sunday.  I have to work from 11 am to 4 pm tomorrow.  My husband will be home late tomorrow night.

In a way I feel selfish, but I am also proud of myself.   I need to start taking better care of myself and saying no is part of that road.  It won’t always be easy.  It won’t always be fun, but it’s something I need to do for me.

I come first.  Not last.  My world is shifting.  My views are shifting.  I am shifting.

It’s about time.