66 Days To Make Me A Priority

Have you ever been so tired you start doing things that you’d be embarrassed if anyone saw? I must have been sleep walking yesterday morning as I almost put orange juice in my cereal and laundry in the oven! I laughed when I snapped out of it, and knew that was a sign I needed to stop and breathe! Before I ended up doing something less funny, and more irreversibly annoying! Time for a cold cup of tea! 

Do you ever feel like you’re always catching up? Like nothing’s ever quite finished and you’re literally in a state of permanently to be continued? My days are blurring into one, I rarely know what date it is, let alone what day of the week it is! I’m no longer frantic, or perplexed by the seemingly never ending chores. I’ve just accepted I can’t do it all, all of the time. Some things just won’t get done right now, and that’s fine. As long as everyone’s fed, we’re winning! No one ever died from a bulging laundry basket, though the size of mine could easily cause extreme palpitations! If dinner’s not made from scratch, pizza it is tonight! And if I don’t get up early enough to give Mary Poppins a run for her money and make a pack lunch for my toddler, the world will still continue revolving and luckily for me we don’t live in no mans land and food can be bought on route. 

If a Mothers work is never done, there’s literally no point beating yourself up about not doing it all … just do enough, there will always be something that needs to be done, a floor that needs mopping, clothes that need ironing, a nose that needs wiping. Parents tend to put their own needs secondary to that of their children, it goes with the territory and most of us gracefully accept this as a term of parenting. But what if we just decided to put our own needs on par with that of our children? Is that crazy? Or perhaps just slightly below, a kind of one for me two for them scenario. There will always be demands on your time, your energy, your head space, your boobs, but if you choose you and make yourself a priority even for just a fraction of the day you’ll see that your daily commitments still fill the rest of the day, but you get a moment amidst the chaos just for you. You’re worth that moment. Find it, treasure and make it a new habit. 

Everyday I’ve decided to choose a self care item on my long list of things I’d like to. Today it’s hair braiding, tomorrow I’ll paint my nails… Well at least that’s the plan, and I feel like finding a nice cafe and having a slow uninterrupted cappuccino and cake st some point this week. 

Fitting a little bit of self care is a challenge most days, my days are non stop and when both kids are sleeping in the evening I’m usually exhausted, staring at an overwhelming pile of laundry that needs sorting and a dishwasher that needs loading. 

But without that little bit of self care, I have a day full of taking care of everyone but me. And I’ve decided that I deserve to be taken care of too! And it feels good, and yes I’m worth it! So if you’re anything like me and can’t remember the last time you shaved your legs or enjoyed an indulgent bubble bath with essential oils and a glass of Prosecco it may be time for you to join me! 

66 days of me. So the challenge is to do at least one selfish thing a day for 66 days. According to some research carried out by the University College London it takes 66 days to form a habit and this is a habit I want entrenched in my life! So I’m going to make it my new normal to shine a daily dose of self love in my life.

It’s so important to look after our physical, mental and emotional well being. And too often we forget that it takes some effort to do this. Sometimes you’re too burnt out to care or simply don’t have the energy to give you the attention you need. But if you can just claw back a little time and enough energy for yourself, you won’t regret it.

Self care can come in so many different forms, interpret as you wish. Just do something for yourself that has a positive impact on your physical, mental or emotional wellbeing. 

Don’t juggle all of the balls at the expense of being well rounded and happy. Our children need us to look after ourselves so that we can be the best parents we can be. And we deserve to reflect the love we give.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you exercise self love. Please follow, tag someone who needs to hear this and get in touch.