By: Graeme Seabrook.
As moms, one of the hardest things to do sometimes is to take care of ourselves. It is the most important thing that we can do for ourselves and our families. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have to be able to make it through years, decades of parenting!
After going through Postpartum Depression and Anxiety I have learned some things about myself. I am much more fragile and much more strong than I ever realized. The strength came through when I needed to keep going long past the point that my mind and body wanted to give up. The fragility comes from all of the places where I broke and have been mended, but not yet fully healed.
And so, to keep up the strength for the times I need it and to care for the parts of me that are still tender, I make each Saturday a #selfcaresaturday. I decide ahead of time on a thing or things I will do for myself, just to make myself happy or to give myself something that was missing from my week. I also post about what I’m doing on Facebook and Twitter and on my personal blog so that I’m held accountable to actually DO it and not get distracted by life and all of its demands.
Last Saturday I decided that I didn’t care what my house looked like, I was going to work on my quilting project. Once I spent a few hours catching up on all of the TGIT shows and eating ice cream. I’ve taken naps and colored in my coloring book and gone for walks and called a friend just to chat. Self care doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be time consuming. It can be whatever you like, whatever will make you smile and lighten your day.
If you haven’t already committed to some type of weekly self care please think about adding it into your schedule. You’ll be amazed at how even a few minutes a week to focus only on yourself can change things for you. You are important. You are the very first person you need to take care of.
What do you do for self care? What do you want to do? Are you ready to make a #selfcaresaturday commitment? Tell us in the comments!