Tips for Self- Care

Before I share, I just need to clarify, I know a little about some things but I'm an expert on absolutely nothing. There. I'm glad I got that off my chest! My heart in writing this post is really that it would act as somewhat of a journal for me. I know self care is important but I fail at it miserably. This is me gathering my thoughts as I attempt to get back into the swing of things!


1. Sleep 
Starting off with a challenging one. As a mom of two young children and a wifey this one is so hard for me, and I think it's hard for a lot of mommas. We can often times let our children's sleep habits dictate our own. My challenge is to put more healthy boundaries on bed time. Example- my boys bed time is 8:00 and mine is 10. If going to sleep at a reasonable hr is a challenge for your mind and body try to limit your daily caffeine (especially in the afternoon), limit screen time,  look into magnesium supplements.

2. Eat
3 healthy meals a day. I tend to eat the left overs of my kids breakfast and lunch...any other moms out there relate?! Meal plan, write down what you eat, set a timer, whatever you need to do but make sure you nourish your body.

3. Move
Move your body for at least a half hr a day. I'm a low impact exercise kind of girl, so walks and yoga are my jam, but go for a run or do some weights if that floats your boat.

4. Personal Development
One of the beautiful things about humanity is that none of us have arrived. Jesus is the only one who's perfect. This drives the desire in my heart to keep learning. I love to read or listen to audio books or put on a good parenting podcast while I do the dishes. My morning routine right now includes reading my bible and then spending some time in some self work reading. I'm currently reading The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. I've noticed that the practice of being self aware and working of myself helps me have greater empathy for other people. We're truly all in this together.

5. Talk
Do you have people you can talk through things with? I'm a hard core enneagram 9 so talking about myself is really hard for me. I'm learning that feeling heard is important and necessary because it reminds me that I'm important too. My thoughts and opinions have the right to be heard. For me that's with a small group of really safe people. My husband, my close friends, and even my therapist.

6. Create
Take time for some sort of creative outlet. I used to really struggle with this idea because I put limits on what it means to be creative. I think it came from being married to a creative. I've recently learned that a creative outlet for me is actually homemaking. Making my house a home is actually so life giving for me! The problem is that, because I do this every day, it can lose it's magic pretty quickly. I think one of the reasons it's still so fun is because I do it on a small budget which makes it kind of like a game. Flower arranging is another life giving hobby for me.

7. Pause & Sabbath
A seemingly foreign practice in todays world. I really believe we have a general belief as a society that if we keep working and never stop, we'll never have to deal with that aching feeling inside that tells us we're not enough. Pausing is so important in the journey to becoming self aware. Our family has found so much joy in practicing sabbath. We stopped doing sabbath as we were gearing up to move and let me tell ya we felt the repercussions. Setting aside time to reflect and not work on anything is like water on my weary soul. It's a time we can reflect on all God has done for us and is still doing and a wonderful time to be mindful of the things in our life that aren't serving us well.
I usually come out of Sabbath reminded that I need less social media, less news, and more of Jesus.

8. My list
This will probably sound funny but I have a list of things that make me feel more like myself that I pull out every so often. They include watching chick flicks, painting my nails, window shopping and long bubble baths. The ultimate girl "self- care list". I love these things but they are second to true self care. They are fun and easy! Something I'm learning though, is that self care isn't always supposed to be easy right?  I really believe there's time and space for both.

God Bless Your Day,
Kathleen