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Since I am a busy mom, you know that there isn’t always time for me. I would be lying if I said that I never take time for me, because I do, just not as much as I should. We all know that there is always something that needs to be done and, like me, you probably have an ongoing, never ending list of things to do. Maybe we both need to add a few things to our daily lists that are for us and us alone. Self Care is so important and I am learning lately how important it actually is.
I am a stressor and worrier and I want everything done a specific way and things to be perfect all the time, which gives me tons of anxiety. I know things can’t be perfect all the time and I am working really hard on myself to change and not stress so much, but that isn't easy to do. I can’t tell you how many times over the last couple months that someone has told me that I need to relax, or I am going to have a heart attack, or something is going to happen to knock me on my butt. So a few weeks ago when I received a text in the early morning, it really opened my eyes that I need to chillax just a bit!
So it was a Friday morning and things were going the same as normal getting everyone up and out the door. Now I keep my phone downstairs at night so was surprised to see a text from my sister at 6am. The text started with…”Now don’t worry, I am ok…” So, immediately my heart drops. The message continues to say that she is in the emergency room, she had a seizure in the night and was taken by ambulance, but that she is fine and they are running tests to see what happened. She said that there was no need for me to come, nothing that I can do, but she wanted to tell me. So of course I am worried and respond to be sure that she is ok, what happened, does she need help with the kids, etc. Thankfully all worked out and was in control, but I tell you what…if I would have been needed to help I would have been in the car and on the road headed that way in a heartbeat!
So let’s fast forward a second… they found nothing and they have no idea why it did happen, but think that stress may have been a culprit. Now I know that my sister runs hours just like me, sometimes she runs harder than me because she actually travels with her job a lot. So having this happen to her, really made me take a step back and realize that things could definitely have been worse and that if I don’t take a step back and reassess my life, something like this could happen to me.
So, I started taking more time for me and giving up things and doing things that I knew were killing me slowly. I used to stay up until 11 or 12 every night and work on things for my business, but then I was lucky to get 4 or 5 hours of good sleep, because my youngest was not a good sleeper at this point in her life. I also cut out Social Media for about 2 weeks and…wow…did that help a lot of my anxiety. I wasn’t trying to keep up with people and do all the things that you do on the multiple social platforms. Heck, I pretty much did not touch my phone very much at all during that couple weeks, and it was an amazing feeling! If you have never just unplugged from the social media world for an extended amount of time, definitely try it sometime! You will be surprised at how good it actually feels to not be consumed with it!
I started taking better care of myself and doing something with myself, example put on makeup, which I hardly ever do because there is just no time. I am actually enjoying spending time with my kids and not worrying about the chores that need to be done while they are up. Heck! I have even been leaving the dinner dishes in the sink and cleaning them up later on, just so we can go outside and play and enjoy the only couple hours that we see each other in the evenings. I have been reading a little more and even just sitting down and doing nothing at times each day, because I can go nonstop from the time I get up in the morning, until the time I lay my head down at night.
Now you are probably thinking, well these aren’t really great tips for me to use, but honestly sometimes you get going being mom and taking care of so much that you don’t even realize that you are missing out on all the little things going on around you. Sometimes you are just in a routine and you need to just step back and see that you need to take a break every so often and relax. Think of all the things that you like to do that make you happy and just get out of your own head for a bit.
Maybe you like to watch TV or movies, or exercise, or meditate, or read, or take a bath, or sleep, or even have a glass of wine. Do these things! Even just taking 5 minutes is so important for your mental and physical health, trust me. I know I don’t want anything to happen to me to really knock me on my butt and make me slow down, and I believe that things do happen when they are meant to and even just to open your eyes a bit.
Doing things for you and taking care of yourself needs to at times be put on the priority list!
Because girl, you absolutely deserve the time you take to care for you and you alone!
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