A Full Week at a Slower Pace
This week has felt both full and grounding at the same time, letting everyday moments with friends and family count as real health care.
On Monday, I eased into the week with a visit from a friend after work. It was one of those simple, quiet evenings that reminded me how much everyday connection matters, even when nothing “big” is happening.
Tuesday was my first day off. My partner and I started the morning in the sauna at 07:00, watching the day slowly wake up outside while we sat in the warmth. It set a very calm tone for the rest of the day and felt like a small reset in the middle of winter routines.
On Wednesday, I switched gears completely. I had a very exciting consulting meeting where we were already planning for 2026, which gave me a real sense of direction and long-term perspective. Right after work I went straight to a hotel for a small staycation with a friend. We checked in, had a mocktail at the bar, and then went out for dinner at a French restaurant. The rest of the evening we spent back at the hotel watching a series and just unwinding.
Thursday started at the hotel as well. We had a slow morning with hotel breakfast, and I used the rest of the late morning in the hotel room to write for Substack, which felt both productive and creatively satisfying. Later I went to the sauna again and swam in the sea. I ended up meeting some interesting people there, including someone who lives on a sailboat, which sparked a lot of thoughts about different ways of living. In the evening I tried a Megaformer class for the first time, and my body definitely noticed.
Friday was also a day off. I started the day with a HIIT session at Barry’s, and then kept the rest of the day quite calm. I met a friend for coffee, and later in the evening I relaxed and continued working on Substack, tying together some of the ideas that had been forming earlier in the week.
On Saturday, I woke up and went strength training with my partner. After that, I started preparing for next weekend’s Christmas dinner I am hosting and bought a few things we will need. It made the upcoming days feel a bit more festive already.
Today, Sunday, has been very social in the best possible way. I had lunch with two friends who have also become my colleagues, which is a combination I really appreciate. In the evening, my partner and I had dinner with a couple who are both our friends and now also our neighbours – they live just one floor above us, across the hallway. It feels like our little everyday network is slowly forming around us, both personally and professionally.
Looking back, this week has been a mix of work and rest, planning and presence: long-term strategy meetings and Substack writing on one side, and saunas, hotel breakfasts, training sessions and dinners with people I care about on the other. It has also been a reminder that I function better when I slow down a bit, listen to my body and allow myself to be tired without pushing through all the time.
In the background of all of this is my history with lipedema. I have had four lipedema surgeries, but I have never removed any lipedema fat from my buttocks. My hips and butt are still heavy and large, and my surgeon believed that the cosmetic result would not be good if we operated there. I have not really struggled with pain in that area, but I am still worried about how progressive it might be, especially during hormonal changes. So when I talk about taking care of my health, it is not just abstract. It is very concrete and very physical.
There was a lot of movement this week – workouts, meetings, social plans – but there was also real recovery. Sitting in a hot sauna at seven in the morning, eating a quiet hotel breakfast, having an unhurried coffee with a friend, or watching a series in bed does more for my stress level than any complicated “self-improvement plan”. I notice how much calmer my nervous system feels when I build in these pockets of rest instead of treating recovery as something I will “catch up on later”.
Spending time with friends, my partner, and people who are slowly becoming both colleagues and neighbours also feels like a form of health care. It is not just about exercise, hormones, or what I eat, but about having a small, stable circle of people to share everyday life with. That in itself takes the pressure down. I do not have everything figured out, but weeks like this make it clear that my health, my stress levels, my body and my relationships are tightly connected – and that taking care of them is not a side project. It is part of the main work.