self care – What have you done for yourself today?
Hello there fellow parents!
I ask the question above from a place of wondering. A place of kindness. I know that it is all too easy to let go of the things we hold important for ourselves in order to take care of the little people in our lives. But self-care is important too. Caring for ourselves easily slips away as a result of all that piles up in our daily lives: dishes, laundry, the mail… I think you get where I’m going with this. As a parent to a young child (or children) it can feel like the day to day things can become too much, and it is therefore difficult to accomplish everything on that To-Do List. We all know this, we all feel it.
That said,
I want to share something with you today. There is something that I have ADDED to my day that has helped me accomplish more. That might sound kind of silly, that heaping on more things has allowed me to have less stress by the end of the day, but it’s true. I’m not sharing this because I want to seem like I have my life all put together and everything is going super smoothly. My purpose in putting my experience out there is to simply encourage others out there like me.
We are now 1 month into 2019. And though I didn’t traditionally set a bunch of resolutions (that I knew I probably wouldn’t keep up with, and be disappointed in myself, yet again) I did have some goals in mind that I wanted to work on. One big goal is to become a healthier and happier me. Wow! Shocker, right?! But hear me out.
Since I became a stay-at-home Mama I realized how easy it is to put my needs aside in order to care for my little guy. I think most of us parents do this quite naturally. However, I was starting to notice how my motivation to do healthy things was disappearing. I wasn’t being fully present during the day for my little one. And although he was getting along fine playing independently, he wasn’t getting the full benefit of having a Mommy at home to look after him. On top of that, this Mommy wasn’t really feeling like herself anymore.
I decided that this needs to change. Not surprisingly, when I chose to add self-care into my day I noticed that everything became a lot smoother. I had more energy to clean the house, prepare healthy dinners, take on a few bigger projects. I was also able to be a better parent.
You know what else I’ve noticed?
Since I’ve been logging my workouts I’ve noticed that 30 or 45 minutes is such a small portion of my day. It is just a sliver of time. All I need to do is protect that important part of my day like I protect my baby’s sleep schedule and we’ve got it made.
The good news is that since my self-care doesn’t take up too much time I’m finding a way to fit it into my day. A 30 min workout in the morning, and a cup of tea with a lit candle at night and it is amazing how much better I feel. It doesn’t take much to add back a little bit of balance.
So here are some things that give me a little refresh and help charge my batteries for a day at home with my little guy. They are all things that are pretty easy to do and are fairly inexpensive.
Do Something, Even if it’s Small
- Start the morning together with a healthy breakfast.
- Make a cup of tea
- Turn on the aroma therapy diffuser or light a candle
- Workout: do yoga, go for a walk, ride your bike…
- Read
- Journal
- Make some art
- Listen to music
- Take a hot shower or bath
- Take a nap while little one naps
I know how hard it is to make this time for ourselves. Maybe you’ve found yourself in a season of stress and you feel like you don’t deserve the time. Trust me, you do!
I’m here to tell you that you deserve it! You are a great parent and even giving yourself a small portion of your day can help set the tone for an enjoyable day with the kids. You know what else I’ve noticed? When I take time for myself I am more patient and capable of tackling the challenges of the day. Also, not only am I happier, but my baby is too.
