As the season of love (February) has wound down, I find myself thinking about all the ways we put ourselves out there for others while denying our own self-care. It's SO easy to do--whether you’re single, married, a parent, a grandparent, or any combination.
I (Erin) am now in the empty nester phase of my life, and I've come to realize I really put self-care at the bottom of my priority list when the kids were home--especially when they were little. But now that they're out on their own in the world (though they still text all the time), I have a lot of time to think about how to take better care of myself.
Whether you’re single, just had a baby, or are grandparents, I hope you'll find some of these ideas helpful! We can ALL use better self-care. Remember: you can't pour from an empty cup.
Self-Care Thoughts and Ideas:
Travel!
My husband and I love to travel, and it's so much easier without the kiddos. Even if you're just taking a day or weekend trip to the next town over, do it with pizazz and make the most of it. I had never traveled out of the country until 2018, and international travel really opened up my eyes. I am so thankful for the experience and what it taught me.
We've deemed this year "The Year of Music." We'll be doing a lot of travel related to seeing concerts and musicals.
If you have a partner, prioritize time together.
Life can get so busy and hectic. It's easy for your relationship to take a back burner because everything else seems so overwhelming. But try to remember to make your partnership a top priority. The kids will leave, you'll leave your job one day to retire--but that person will still be there. There's nothing worse than having a kid go off to college and realizing you're married to a stranger.
Every day after work, my husband and I have coffee and chocolate time. We sit down with a cup of coffee and some chocolate and check in on how our day went. We also have a Saturdate every Saturday. We go to lunch and take a super long walk together. At lunch, we take turns bringing a thought-provoking question.
Do things you've always wanted to do -- don't wait!
I am terrified of flying, but I've been working on my fears lately. So, this past weekend, we went on a helicopter ride. Never in my life did I think I'd do such a thing. But I discovered I loved it!
And we always thought we'd move to the beach when we retired, but we decided why wait? We've lived oceanfront for the last four years, and it's been the most amazing experience (and community)!
There are so many amazing things to do and discover in this world. Don't wait to explore them!
Make time for your hobbies.
Someone once told me, "From the moment the umbilical cord is cut, your child is moving away from you. That's good and that's normal." I really held onto that and tried to always view them as temporary blessings.
If you think it's bad to send a kid off to school and not recognize your spouse, it's that much worse to no longer recognize yourself. Be sure to keep up with your hobbies. There were many nights I stayed up late writing because I couldn't get to it during the day. But it was my "me" thing.
I'm now a published author, and I edit for publishing houses and self-published authors.
Exercise
I always thought I had to push myself doing exercise, and I kinda hated it. I ran half marathons and even taught running classes, but I didn't really get joy out of it (except eating a whole pizza afterward because I could--haha!).
But exercise is crucial to our physical and mental well-being. So find something you love to do. I LOVE to take long walks with my husband. Sometimes, we walk 10-20 miles in a weekend, a lot of it on the beach with coffee (there is a coffee theme here, huh?). I also love to do the elliptical and watch a show. And I love doing Yoga with Adriene (https://yogawithadriene.com/) every morning to get my body moving and my head in the right space for the day.
So, as we head into spring, think of new and exciting ways to take care of yourself and have fun doing it. No matter what stage of life you're in, remember, you're important too!
Until next time!
