Redefining Self Care for the Working Mom explores a little more about what self care really means, especially for the working mother.
If you’ve heard the story once, you’ve heard it a million times. Girl becomes a mother and pours her entire being into being the best parent she can be. She reads the right books, eats/feeds the right foods, prays continually, disciplines appropriately, and the in the meantime tries to be the domestic goddess she always wanted to be.
She does it all, but she neglects the one thing that keeps all of those other plates spinning: herself.
The term ‘self care’ is such a buzzword these days that there are campaigns from every company touting how their product feeds into self care in some form or fashion. It’s even become so much of a buzzword that women are almost ostracized for not having a self care regimen. Oh, you don’t apply a face mask, soak in a hot bubble bath, listen to Brene Brown and drink rose. HOW DARE YOU – don’t you know you have to put your oxygen mask on first Karen?!
Call me a rebel, but I don’t think that self care has to look the same for everyone. For some it may be the magical mask/bath/wine/podcast combo. For others it may look like going on an hour-long run, doing yoga, eating cake, or standing alone in the sunshine for 5 minutes. At the end of the day the only one who can determine what self care actually means is YOU.
One thing I’ve been working on over the past couple years in the self care category is just figuring out what that actually looks like for me. Yes, I enjoy a nice charcoal mask and glass of wine for my wild Friday nights. But what I really do is enjoy injecting a little more femininity into my life. As a mom of two gentlemen I really do enjoy being surrounded by all things BOY; however, there are times when mama just needs to feel like a girl again.
As I sit back and evaluate what that actually means I find that it has layers. Sometimes it’s wearing a full face of makeup for no reason. Others it’s painting my toenails, and still others it’s making a fancy pastry that just looks nice. Most days it looks like a hike in the sunshine, and on others it’s wearing fancy pajamas.
Whatever it looks like, though, the gist is this: don’t let an industry define self care for you. Look inside and remember the things that make you feel the most like YOU. That sexy, carefree, comfortable, beautiful you!
Well put!! I think taking care of oneself is a problem for many women throughout their lives as they are often caregivers all life long.