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Gotta Take Care of YOU!

I got a massage yesterday.

I carved a solid sixty minutes out of my day and treated myself to something just for me.

Did I feel a little guilty? You betcha.

I should have put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink. I should have moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I should have played a game with the kids or bought us all tickets to go see Frozen 2 at the movie theater with the reclining seats.

But I didn’t.

I focused on me instead.

I didn’t used to do stuff like that. I’d soldier through the days, intent on my mantra “Just keep swimming!” floating through my head (in Ellen Degeneres’s voice, of course.) I’d go from sun up to sun down then wake up the next day and do it all over again. And you know what? I was irritable, short-tempered, a manic mess of emotions, and fairly depressed because every day was pretty much the same.

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Yes, my husband was supportive and did more than his fair share. Yes, I had friends who were always available to chat when we could both find the time and weren’t distracted by toddlers taking advantage of mom being on the phone for a few minutes. But it didn’t help.

Then one day a super smart person told me to find something to do for myself each day. Something I could look forward to that was just for me. It might be five minutes of reading right before bed. Or buying myself a candy bar that I could enjoy all by myself. Or taking the dogs on quick walk around the block. Or even just soaking in the tub at the end of the day without anyone barging in on me.

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So I did.

And guess what?

Nothing bad happened. The laundry was still there the next day. My kids learned to be patient because sometimes Mom needed to take a break. My mood improved because I always had something to look forward to, even if it was teeny tiny and seemed insignificant to everyone else.

So now I tell everyone… take care of yourself. Build something into your day that’s just for you. It doesn’t have to be huge or expensive or take a lot of time. But if you’re like me, even the little things can make a BIG difference in the way you take on life.

What kind of things do YOU do just for YOU?

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Linda

    So happy that you are carving a little time for just you everyday. It really is important for your sense of well being. I am in a position (retired early) where I now can do that. But working full time since I was 18, I can relate to the many stresses of trying to juggle many balls. I wish I had taken more care of myself when I was younger, but wisdom comes with age. I myself get a massage twice a month, but now it’s mostly for all my joint pain, what are you going do right? But I also get the benefit of relaxing and feeling good for an hour and clearing my mind of the many thoughts that bounce around in my head. Take Care Dylann……. Linda

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