Take a shower. Many of the moms I know don’t get to take showers every day or even every few. I go a little crazy without a shower. A shower is like hitting the reset button. Until I’ve done it, I don’t feel like my day has started.- Make my bed. The whole rest of the house can be a mess, but if my bed is made, it gives me a
- Come back to the present moment. When I’m lost in thought, usually bad thoughts about stuff that has happened or that I imagine might happen, I label it “thinking” and breathe myself back into my body. What is happening right here and right now? Usually something that’s just fine like driving down the highway or playing with my son or sitting in my living room.
- Read. Escapist, inspiring, educational reading are all great choices. Something to take me out of the present moment, my brain, my life is exactly what I need to take care of myself sometimes (okay, often).
- Maybe most people do this all the time, but I’m just learning to ask myself, what do I feel like doing right now OR how can I take care of myself right now?
- Eat protein. Before I’m impatient, spacy, starving, or in tears from low blood sugar, it’s best to eat some quinoa, a handful of nuts, or drink a glass of milk.
- Let myself off the hook. I tend to beat myself up and have perfectionist tendencies so letting myself off the hook is an extreme act of self care. For instance I set the goal of one blog post a day this year, but when my internet connection has been down or I’ve gotten home from divorce class at 11 p.m. and am tired, or I’ve had a really good or bad day, maybe five times this year, I just haven’t posted. At least two of those, I told myself it was okay that I wasn’t doing.
- Just do it. Anticipation, worry, time spent planning are all saved if I just do something rather than spend a ton of time dreading or putting it off. I’m working on a new rule. If I’ll worry about it longer than it will take me to do something, I just do it.
- Exercise. Sore, tired, depressed are all great reasons to exercise instead of lying around.
- Go to bed earlier. Instead of getting one more thing done, watching a show, reading another chapter, just turn off the light.
What are your favorite ways to take care of yourself?
Photo by Subculturegraphics
Posted on May 16th, 2010 in 
Eat chocolate and run.
So I’m not the only one who has a hard time finding time for the shower?! This was validating. I never talk about it because… Who wants to admit she did not take one today? Acts of self care for me that were not on your list: sleep, time to read/blog, play a game, chocolate! Chocolate is actually a bad idea for me. I have compromised with myself to get chocolate twice a month.
Chocolate is a challenge for me. I have figured out that though it is comfort for me, it is not actually self care most of the time. Sometimes the comfort need outweighs the acne, weight gain, continued sugar cravings, but more often I just feel guilty and lethargic after chocolate. Ugh, I wish it didn’t taste so good.
Yes getting a shower is a problem for me. I am always too tired at night and Emma wakes me up so early, so I don’t get up before her to shower. Sometimes I take a bath with Emma in the afternoons after we’ve played outside. It’s not exactly relaxing mommy time but at least I can get clean!
Getting clean is part of it for me, but the alone time, the moments under water to just be undone and made over go a long way for me. On the days when Cavanaugh is not happy to watch a video while I take a shower, he and I play games. He looks for something–these days it’s a Locomotion postcard–and comes back to ask me where to look next. He runs around all over upstairs, gets to have contact with me, and I get to have a little space. Other days, we sing songs together while he stands outside the curtain. Others, if I set up blocks or trucks in the bedroom outside my shower, he will play in there and be happy to just be in proximity.
I had a horrible night last night. Got less than 4 hours of sleep altogether. My daughter is with my mother for a few hours, which I am very grateful for. I thought of you and your inspiring blog entries. I decided I am having a self-care morning. Here is what I have done or plan to do in no particular order: shower; sleep; eat a healthy breakfast; drink a cup of water each hour, roughly; get on the elliptical; spend some time on the computer… I am debating if cleaning our house is an act of self care! I guess, in a way, it is because it will make me feel better. I feel like the dishes are going to hit the ceiling any minute! I hope you are having a good day today. My day is getting better and, in part, it is thanks to you!
I’m so happy to hear you gave yourself a self-care morning. Cleaning my house, or at least parts of it, are self care for me. I almost never like scrubbing floors, but making the bed and vacuuming the living room are sanity savers for me. How did it go? Did you get everything done you had hoped?