(have you tried whipped coffee??

It is so good, but my arms hurt now)

Self Care Assessment

As the semester winds down my Educational Psychology class has the opportunity to earn some extra credit by doing an assessment of our self-care regimen and what we can do to improve it. 

In doing so it has come to my attention that I do absolutely zero self-care... zilch. Nada. Nothing to take care of myself. 

Ok, so that is not exactly true. 

I spend time with the ones I love. However, the stress of the every day doesn't always leave me enjoying this time or being as present as I want to be. So I am going to say I do little to no self-care. 

Reflecting on why it is important to take care of ourselves and how to do that was eye-opening. As parents or teachers, we are consumed by caring for others. Caring for others is my joy and my calling, but no one can pour from an empty cup. 

Self-care is never more important than it is now. With the quarantine came huge life changes for us and for our children and students. Think about how you want to look back on this time. How do you want your children to look back on this time? 

I hope that my children and students look back on this time and know that I was there for them; that transition can be hard and scary but that it can also be an adventure and an opportunity. I also want us all to know that caring for our health (emotional, physical, spiritual, etc.) should be our top priority right now. 

Let us take a closer look at some of the ways I have incorporated self-care in the last few weeks.

I really love to look at smoothie bowls on Instagram. They are so pretty! So I  made smoothie bowls for my family! (Just like Instagram!)They were beautiful, fun to make, and took time to make (so it wasn't just fuel for the body but an artistic experience) making me slow down a bit. 

 Rikki especially liked these. Here is a pic of her downing her smoothie bowl.

We took the time to be silly... These are my two daughters. I think the quarantine had gotten to us by this point lol.

Snuggled Piper the pup...

She gets a lot of snuggles...

and we have walked a LOT during this quarantine. 

So I chose to focus on my emotional self-care for this activity. I have been struggling emotionally. Some of these activities branched off into other areas of self care, but my focus was on finding peace and calm during a hard time. Quarantine is a really hard time to stay connected emotionally to your people. I made sure to face time friends, walk with my children and mom, call my brother, all things I didn't do as much as I should. It really has made me feel better.

Let me just say, life is hard sometimes. I know it is. It is especially hard when we are overwhelmed and our cups are empty. I have been feeling yucky emotionally of late, missing my church, my students, my family. It wears on us all. Committing to taking care of yourself is so important in order to get out of the funk. 

I still have a long way to go in my quest to care for myself, but I see now how important it is. Allow yourself this time. Allow it for your children too! If they need some quiet time in nature instead of working on homework, let it happen. The work will get done. Prioritize well being and teach through example that it is ok and it is not selfish to self-care!