Slow Down, Mama
“Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.”
–Fanny Crosby
Mama, slow down.
I know how heavy the weight of change can be.
It’s the hustle and bustle of getting kids off to school every morning, the rush when we’re driving,
the irritation that sets in the moment we don’t complete our to do list before we notice
it’s 10 o’clock at night, and even the impatience when our children are simply just being children.
Preparing to change your routine at all can be a stressful thing for not only children but us adults too.
Sometimes we need to allow our busy selves to just slow down a moment.
The emotions sometimes, they can all get to much to handle and when you add in a million and one tiny requests; well then you’re really asking for it.
The dishes will still be there tomorrow for you to clean, the mail and emails to be opened, the refrigerator that needs to be cleaned out, the laundry still to be folded and nothing of it will have changed one bit.
I understand how it’s easy to get caught up in the busy parts of our routines and the little obstacles that come in between.
The stress of staying at home and running literally 20 jobs in 1, the stress of a brand new career, what’s to come with a new medical diagnosis,
the time spent away from family dedicating your heart to something you love or don’t love, a change in the family, or even a change in your heart
…it can all be really heavy.. sometimes too heavy.
Whatever it is that’s throwing you off track today I want to remind you of something,
Every human needs and deserves to be reminded often, that it’s ok to be selfish and to do something for ourselves aside from just doing our makeup and showering.
Self care is so much more than that.
There’s so much we demand to take control of in our everyday lives
(which is a very good thing in many aspects),
but can also be very taxing on you physically and emotionally.
With every healthy relationship there should be boundaries set in place.
I hope you know that it’s perfectly ok for you to shut those voices of demand up sometimes and to start creating those boundaries.
Life is too good to be letting yourself go.
We all need rest, but most importantly you do, mama.
Yes you reading this, in the bathroom alone fighting for a few minutes alone, in the car parked in your driveway waiting to go inside because your baby is asleep in their car seat
and you don’t dare wake the sleeping baby up, the mama up at 3 am feeding her baby back to sleep..
your caring and giving self deserve all the rest in the world.
And honestly screw anyone who makes you feel like you don’t.
Take advantage of every minute, mama, and revel in the contentment of each one and please oh please, just savor it.
Don’t feel guilty, don’t feel ashamed of yourself,
do it with a smile on your face knowing that you are loving your family more by loving yourself first and along the way.
This moment may not come again for another day
or maybe even a month or so.
You never know with this crazy life us parents all live– what in the heck is going to happen next.
Loving yourself is a process, and it can take a lot of work to get there but it will be worth it.
Paint your toenails, do a face mask, take a bath, shut down social media, and jam to your favorite music or listen to some soft meditation.
Whatever it is you choose to do for yourself I hope that you do what ever it is that truly makes you and your soul happy
not anyone else.
Start with you.
deep within your passions and desires, and once you find that form of pure happiness you have always craved, you will be able to share it with others, including your own children.
So,
take the time for yourself, slow down a little, and love on your babies for this short while that they are as little as they are.
Your regret of not worrying less will be there someday if you let it be.
You are needed, loved, accepted, and most importantly you are not alone, mama.
Take care of yourself.
