October 26, 2026 | Becoming
Before you schedule another meeting, favor, or fall activity, open your calendar and look for yourself.
Include the preparation the activity requires.
Where is your lunch break? Your quiet evening? Your time to prepare food, wash your hair, or simply enjoy being home?
For Black women who are accustomed to being dependable, care can become something we squeeze between everyone else’s needs. We plan the gathering, remember the appointment, and check on the people we love. Our own needs may receive whatever time remains.
As the weather turns colder, consider giving your care a regular appointment.
Notice what this season asks of you
Cool mornings and earlier darkness may change how you want to move through your day. Perhaps you want more time to prepare before leaving home. Perhaps an evening activity now means driving home after dark, when you would rather be settling in.
Pay attention to your preferences and practical needs.
What made sense during summer may need adjusting now.
Choose one appointment with yourself
Start with something specific.
“Take better care of myself” is difficult to put on a calendar. “Wednesday at 7:00: prepare dinner and eat at the table” gives care a time and place.
Include the preparation the activity requires. A restful evening may begin with arranging dinner, sharing a household task, or declining an additional commitment.
Choose an appointment you can reasonably keep.
Bring the season into your kitchen
For a simple culinary herbalism practice, add a little packaged thyme to a familiar vegetable soup.
Notice its fragrance, taste the finished dish, and record whether you enjoyed the amount you used. Prepare an extra portion if that would make another meal easier.
Learning one herb through repeated cooking can become part of your seasonal routine.
Consider what your yes requires
Matthew 22:39 includes the command to love your neighbor as yourself. Within Jesus’ teaching about love, consider how you attend to both your neighbor’s needs and your own.
Your calendar can reflect that attention.
Your self-care appointment: Reserve twenty minutes today to schedule three acts of care for the week. Include when, where, and any preparation needed.
Scripture for reflection: Matthew 22:34–40.
Journal prompt: Where have I been expecting my own care to happen without making time for it?