Self care is very important as a mom and even just as a human being. It took me quite some time to realize this and to practice it without guilt! I have been a momma for almost 14 years! Okay, let's just say 14 because seriously folks, next week my first born will be 14. Yes you can all pray for me. I actually do not know what it is like to make decisions just for me. I had to start making decisions for another person when I could barely make decisions for myself. Then I went and chose a serving field for my profession. So, basically my whole life revolves around taking care of other people and making sure their needs are met. It can be really easy to forget about yourself when you are taking care of others.
I read something a while back that made perfect sense to me and changed my whole perspective on self care. The idea I came across was 'mothering ourselves'. I mean Whoa! Makes complete sense right? As women we spend so much time mothering others, who is mothering us? Or more clearly, we treat our children (and others we care for) with care why would we not treat our selves with care? This concept of being my own mother was so eye opening to me, it took away my mom guilt when it comes to caring for myself.
So I started paying attention to those things I need that give me a little breath of life. There are things I need that keep me going, things I actually crave. I need to have alone time, like really alone with no one else around. If I am not getting enough time by myself (and truly I don't need too much) then I start doing things like zoning out on Facebook :( So I know if I want to care for my people well, I need to be alone sometimes and I don't feel guilty about it. Please understand that this does not mean I don't want to be around my people it just means I need time to be with me, just like I need to be alone with my husband sometimes to keep our marriage healthy.
I also need to spend time with women. I need to have time to connect with other life giving women. I struggled in the past to connect with other women. Over the last few years, God has really put some good, life giving, encouraging women in my life. If I am not spending enough time connecting with these women, I start to get grumpy :/
One of my most favorite things to do is sit in a cozy little coffee shop, sip coffee, nibble a scone, people watch, listen to music and write or draw. I don't get to do this often enough but man oh man does it refresh my soul.
Some other little things that make me feel cool and confident are:
nail polish
wearing makeup
getting some highlights in my hair every once in a while
showers, long hot showers!
wearing a flower in my hair
cute and fun notebooks
colorful sharpies
reading
sparkles, glitter and lace
oh, and pretty coffee mugs!
Taking care of yourself is so important and I know it can sometimes seem difficult to keep up or self care gets a back seat, but think about some little ways you can start taking care of yourself today.
How can you be your own mother today?
Love,
~jimmie lee
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