A little background about my writing. I think about this post all month. I try to come up with a clever title and theme to base my writing on. Sometimes I get so caught up in the conceptualization that I just put it off. Then like homework, I sit down on the last day of the month to put words to "paper". It's my birthday month and I have been trying to focus a bit more on myself, so that was the concept floating around in my writing brain all of January. Here goes...
I'm not a fan of the term "self-care". It feels selfish in a weird way. I like to think of it more as working on myself. I try to find time to do the activities that I love. It doesn't happen every day, but I do have some simple things I like that make my life a little easier.
Last year the kids and John created the perfect little coffee station for me. Every night before bed I set it up so my coffee is ready first thing. Actually, I do three things every work night before bed, set the coffee maker, pack my lunch, and lay out my clothes for the next day. These three things are for my "future self". They make my mornings easier.
Every night I take a bubble bath. You know, the luxurious kind that some people take every once in a while. I take one EVERY night. Lots of bubbles, candles, and sometimes for as long as it takes for my toes to prune up, and before you know it an hour is gone. This is one of the only times I catch up on social media, like Facebook, Instagram, emails, Twitter, anything I can do on my phone. My family knows and expects this to happen nightly. This isn't something I've always done. It's only been in the last few years since everyone has been teens and needed me less now that I can do this.
I read daily, an audiobook on the way home from work and on my Kindle before bed (sometime after dinner if it's a good book!). I listen and read the same book. This helps me get through them quicker. Especially, since some nights I fall asleep before I even finish a page of reading on my Kindle!
I love Podcasts. That's what I listen to on the way to work. I have several I love, Smartless is my current favorite, followed by Happier with Gretchen Rubin.
I light scented candles and decorate for each holiday. It's little and simple but makes me happy. I thought I used to do it for the kids. I now realize I do it for me! I love it.
I love cooking at the end of the day. I meal plan and shop on Sundays to make the week easy. When I come home from work, I know exactly what to do. I have tons of tips on meal planning and cooking from scratch, so ask away if interested.
As a caregiver, I want everyone else to be taken care of, but sometimes at my own expense. It has taken me years to learn how to prioritize myself. But with age comes wisdom right? And now that I'm 49 I'm practically a genius! I'm looking forward to working on even more "self-care" this year.
This month I found more time for me, okay, and the kids too. I'm also trying to add more "fun" to our regular routines. I feel like January offered us a little of everything.
I don't just love coffee at home, we love getting coffee out. Sunday mornings before we drop Jonas off at work we sometimes grab a coffee.
Lorelei's homemade frappuccino is pretty close to a coffee shops!
We had a wonderful afternoon downtown at The Pearl MLK weekend. We were supposed to go to Austin to see Savannah, but she wanted to come home instead. She insisted that we still do something fun. It was a beautiful winter day for being outside.
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