With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I want to take a moment today to talk about self-care as a mom. I don’t mean spa days or girls weekends. Or that half an hour you take once a week to watch something on HBO. I mean real life, every day, not losing your mind.
Finding Satisfaction
See this picture of me and my son when he was one? I remember this moment clearly because I was in a mental moment of peace, living an authentic part of my life. At this point in my life, I was a hippy. I had clothes drying on the line, food growing in our little garden and I was staying home with my kids. Honestly, I was more than a little exhausted.
I found that plastic tub in a closet. I dumped out what was in it and filled it with water for the baby. I didn’t have the energy to even deal with a real kiddie pool but the baby didn’t know that. I sat in the shade, on a very hot day, and just let us all be. I didn’t worry about how the entire inside of the house was a disaster. I didn’t worry about all the things I hadn’t done. I just sat there and focused on being present with my kids. I took a moment to be proud of having the clothes hanging out to dry and that I had the ability to not do anything else at that moment. I just sat there with my kids.
Deciding to Deserve Your Life
In this picture, I’m feeling satisfied with my life. I appreciated my own efforts to do the laundry and plant the garden. The combo of the clothes hanging out and the plants growing really were parts of my life I was choosing to work on. Those were ways I chose to make my stay at home life more than just a job, but something I took satisfaction in. And on this day at this moment, I just sat there, doing nothing but watching my baby splash as my oldest played in the yard. I reminded myself to be grateful for what I had and to just feel satisfied with my life at that moment.
It is hard to feel satisfied. It is hard to feel like we’ve done enough each day. It is hard to just find those moments and relax in them, but you need to do it. You deserve to take the time to just be. You do the work to build the life you want for yourself and your kids. You put time into your home, or yard or RV. And you need to take moments to sit back and appreciate both what you have and how hard you have worked.
As my kids have gotten older, I’ve learned to take my moments of satisfaction in different times and places. Some of my favorite moments in the last few years have been spent sitting beside a local river while my kids played on the shore. At times, my oldest will sit beside me and just breath in the calm too. Taking the time to just feel that life is going to be okay. Feeling satisfied that we have a life that is comfortable enough to let me take a day to just sit by the river.
Take a Moment to Feel Your Satisfaction
So, while you build your authentic life, a life you feel proud of, take moments to let your authentic self be satisfied with what you are doing. Look at your beautiful kids and just appreciate them. Don’t worry about all they do or don’t know, need to do, or want. Just appreciate that they are wonderful people who are here with you. Isn’t that amazing? This gift of time we have with them? Enjoy it.
About the Author
Laura Sowdon, OTR/L is an occupational therapist, writer, speaker, educator and creator of the Five Senses Literature Lessons homeschool curriculum. She has worked as an occupational therapist with children in public and private schools, as well as private practice. Laura has taught and managed homeschool co-ops as well as homeschooling her own three children. Laura is dedicated to the idea of educating children at a pace that aligns with brain and physical development milestones and respects neurodiversity in all its forms.