Me, Me, Me, Me......


It is clear to me that my ability to stay sane and centered is directly related to the amount and quality of self-care that I give to myself. I really don't think that I am unique in that. Long before I had my child(ren) I would hear women talk about how they lost themselves in wifedom and motherhood - how they had forgotten who they were, what their dreams were etc... I would stifle a yawn and shake my head in wonderment. How could they let that happen? Just for the record, God, that was a rhetorical question.

I now understand clearly how that happens to me and I suspect to other women as well. When we don't care for ourselves first, it is an abandonment. For many of us, certainly for me, it is repeating the abandonment that was first carried out on us by parents who had also been abandoned years ago.

I have been learning over the years, with the help of a wonderful therapist, how to re-parent myself and stay present for myself. As a single woman, I had almost perfected my parenting of myself. Then the Lord laughed.......

Caring for myself and my Self, while also learning how to be a wife and a mother (both roles for which I barely had a template) has been a whole new journey that God has laid out before me. I am thankful for the path, it is one that is necessary for me to grow in the ways that I know God wants me to grow and at times it is grueling for me.

In order to ensure quality self care in the weeks prior to the birth of the June Bug and in the immediate weeks following, I wrote out my self care plan. I know that writing something down, moving it from my grey matter to paper is a powerful recognition of reality. I also know that sharing it with others, as much as possible, puts it even further into the universe, into the hands of God, thereby further guaranteeing its success. With that in mind, the following is my self care plan for the immediate future, which is truly as far as we can plan (and even that is a bit grandiose)......

1.Take good care of my hands.
2.Establish and execute nightly routine.
3.Drink enough water
4.Eat regularly; eat well
5.Eat chocolate whenever it is desired
6.Establish regular bedtime and maintain
7.Allow enough time in the morning for private time
8.Rest/take breaks during the day
9.Shower every morning
10.Plan/prepare dinner ASAP in the morning

As June Bug's arrival draws closer and once she arrives, many of these ways of caring for myself will have to be adjusted or even shelved for the sort-term. Even as I write this I am aware of the ways the list has already been revised, so more will be revealed........(thank you MMM)