“Look Out ‘Cuz Here I Come”

I am a HUGE fan of The Greatest Showman.  “This is Me” is one of my favorite songs.  It really hits home with me.  I love the message of embracing who you are and who you are meant to be.  As I get older, I get more and more comfortable in my own skin.  Don’t get me wrong, I have crazy bad insecure days, but I’m not as hard on myself as I use to be.  I can’t be, you see, I have a daughter, she’s watching.

My daughter watches me get ready, takes note of how I’m fixing my hair.  She’s watching me do my makeup.  She’s learning.  If she sees me tear myself down, why wouldn’t she look in the mirror and tear herself down.  Teaching our children self love starts with us.  We have to love ourselves and take care of ourselves.  Self care has never been a strong suit of mine but I’ve learned over the past few years that taking care of myself, helps me take care of others.  I can’t pour from an empty cup.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to “self care”-

Take a shower.  Sounds simple right? Well, when you have 4 kids, work from home full time, a husband, and a dog, there isn’t a lot of time in the day for a shower.  I love to use my favorite  body scrub to exfoliate my skin.  I feel like I’ve been to a spa.  My favorite shampoo and conditioner make me feel like I’ve just gone to the stylist.  I’m a brand new me out of the shower!

I treat myself to my favorite face mask  twice a week. I get a good exfoliate and (hopefully) 10 minutes alone to unwind.

Almost 3 months ago I started yoga.  I started a free 30 Day Yoga For Weigt Loss on Amazon Prime.  I spend 30 minutes every day working on myself.  I feel stronger, and more calm after each 30 minutes.  My daughter even joins me on occasion.  (See, she’s watching).

Call a friend.  We all have that one friend we can call and word vomit all over.  The one person who you can act like a lunatic with and she says “girl me too!”. Let it all out.  Let those frustrations out.  If you don’t have that person, call me.  Make a connection.  Find your tribe.

Listen to music.  I can turn on almost any song from the 80’s and 90’s and all of a sudden I’m a kid again where my only issue is “does this scrunchie match these socks?” Belt out Whitney Houston or Janet Jackson or whatever music speaks to your soul.  Sing and dance like no one is watching, even though your kids are.  Chances are, they are dancing with you.  Even if you have no rhythm and are marching to the beat of your own drum.

Now that I am learning to love me, it’s time to show my children how to love who they are.  Teach them to love every part of who they are.  We are all fearfully and wonderfully made.

Take care of yourself.  If not for you, for the little ones watching your every move.

Here are a few more of my self care favs.

XOXO,

Whitney