MWAH!

That is the sound of a huge kiss going out to all of you who responded to my last post. I sorely needed to hear your words. I think I am beginning to realize, though I've been suspecting it for some time now, that I am heading into dangerous territory with regard to my depression. It's not a very fun thing to know about oneself. It seems as though one's self-perception lags behind the reality for quite a long time if one isn't careful. For example, I still think of myself as an outdoorsy athlete whose mental health is just fine. By and large, I am these things, or at least I can be. Right now, though, I'm not fully any of those things. I have slowly been starving myself of all the things that heal me and make me whole - exercise, nature/getting outside, and spirituality. And allowing myself guilt-free alone time. It is truly time that I start taking care of myself again. For real. As a reward (a dubious one, but still...), I give you two photos of me that Shannon (http://westeringhills.weblogged.net/) sent. First, the dorky one (and yes, you are allowed and encouraged to laugh): This lovely shot was taken against a background of school lockers, eleventh grade, on "Nerd Day." I'm sure my mom was thrilled when I chose her old glasses and dress for my nerdwear. The dress was a mini-dress, and I paired it with green argyle knee-high socks and sandals. The laugh you see is my "big fake nerd laugh." It works, does it not? The next shot will come in the next post because I haven't figured out how to move text around in Blogger.