Recently on MamaHive each of the resident writers were asked to contribute a piece about what we do to take care of ourselves when life gets a bit crazy, and it made me think. Aside from going to the gym on my lunch break each day and the occasional long and indulgent hot shower, there are very few things that I do just for ME. I think that is sort of a universal for most of us moms, we spend so much time thinking about and tending to our kids, significant others, jobs, etc. that we lose ourselves and forget how important it is to do self-care EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Self-care doesn’t have to be five hours each day at the spa (although wouldn’t that be amazing?!), it can be something as simple as taking five minutes to meditate and clear your mind, or setting aside fifteen minutes each night where you just drink a cup of hot tea and read. Granted I would kill to get facials on the daily, but until I can invent a machine that pauses time that isn’t going to happen, so I am currently musing over a list of different simple things that I can do each day to care for myself. I used to think that self-care was self-indulgent, or that it made me selfish or self-centered to care for myself and so I went the opposite way, I neglected all of my own needs, and I burned out. So, this month is going to be mama self-care month. I’m putting myself on a challenge, to do one nice thing (aside from the gym) each day. I’ll keep you guys updated, but I hope that you will join me! We all need to be a little kinder to ourselves. What are some things that you guys do to take care of YOU?
