I set out to better care for myself and I am.

In this time of higher stress I want to be kind and gentle to myself. I want to nurture myself like I care for others.

This past week I have really cared for myself. One of the days I did 12 different things for myself. This is outstanding. I can remember young mama Kimi who would just go, go, go without a thought of doing something for myself. I would often wait til I felt completely undone and say to my hubby, “I gotta go. I will be back. I need a long walk.” These long walks to the lake in our community were restorative but the walks were more like a monthly practice. My joy cup would be overflowing over after this quiet, reflective time which then morphed more into a weekly practice because how much I loved it. But daily, intentional self care was a rarity. I have learned so much and it is now my passion to encourage young mamas. I so easily recognize the familiar exhaustion. I want them to experience more grace and peace than I did. I loved those younger years but I do wish I better cared for myself. I think it would have helped me to be a more patient mama. Patient and kind with the kids and patient and kind with myself. I remember people saying l was a patient mom but they did not see me at my worst, yelling at my littles. Even now remembering my worst, I want to extend grace and understanding to that tired mama. My hope now is to sprinkle grace all over these weary mamas.

So back to this week. I DID 12 THINGS FOR MYSELF IN ONE DAY!!!! These self-care acts may be more common for someone without kids but when you are needed by others it can be easy to not show up for yourself the way you show up for others. These things I have written down on a printed habit tracker. Here are the things I did:

• 5 minutes of core work
• 5 minutes of arm weights
• 5 minutes of morning yoga/gentle stretching
• read/journaled via the practice of lectio divina. A Bible verse I read, Jesus was speaking and said, “I tell you, do not worry about your life.” I needed that.
• took vitamins (lab work showed I am deficient in some things)
• took a new hippie supplement that is supposed to help with my energy
• made my bed (I love seeing it looking lovely)
• ate under 150grams of carbs (I am trying to lower my A1C as a pre diabetic)
• 20 minutes of mediation/centering prayer
• walked 1.5 miles on treadmill while writing on my laptop
• wrote 1196 words when my goal is to just write 100 words.

I’m learning from goal gurus (like Jon Acuff) that is better to set easy goals so that you can achieve success thus motivating yourself which results in building momentum. This is so happening in my life. My habits I am seeking to do just 10 days out of the month which is way more achievable than EVERYDAY. Today is only the 16th day of December but I have already wrote 5 of the days for a total of 4,000+ words. I am finding that 100 words is basically a short paragraph which is totally doable once I get started. Starting is key. This habit tracker is helping me to start more. I find once I start I am often motivated to do more than I planned. So I walk an extra half mile or mile. I decide to keep writing. Honestly it is often not even a cognitive choice to keep writing. I want to complete my thought process far more than meet a numerical goal.

I recently wanted to encourage some coworkers who are also mamas juggling motherhood and a full-time job. I bought them a card that says, “You are killing it!” After writing today, I recognize that I am killing it and I can celebrate myself. At the beginning of the year I felt like the Lord was encouraging me to set up a rhythm to help me to become more disciplined so that I can accomplish the dreams in my heart. It is hard to work on the fun stuff of dreams if there is not structure to get the day to day tasks done. One of those dreams is to write and then publish the books in my heart. So the structure of having a habit tracker is helping me write a few times a week when I used to just write once a month on my 24 silence/solitude retreat.

I am so thankful for the encouragement and wisdom of other writers like Jon Acuff who gave me tools to achieve my goals/dreams.