The author, Jen Hatmaker, recently wrote a post talking about the things that she does for her morning self and night self in order to take care of her ‘sweet self.’ First off, I would like to say that referring to yourself as ‘sweet self’ is a great start because if you are anything like me, the names that I call myself aren’t usually the most uplifting. So, her post got me thinking. What are the things that I’m already doing OR things that I could start doing to treat myself better? How can I help my own self?
Things for my precious tired morning self:
Prep the coffee at night. Jen mentioned this as one of hers, too, but you guys, it’s essential for everyone’s well-being in my household. I’m pretty sure my Mr. Coffee machine cost a whopping $25 and it is just the greatest. If I don’t get the beans and water in there at night and press the little timer button, then mornings are just hard. How is one supposed to actually make the coffee before having coffee? I do not know. - Load and run the dishwasher before bed. Then, when I’m enjoying that first cup of coffee that has been brewed for me, I empty the dishwasher. This does two things for me. It gives me a mindless chore to slowly do in the mornings, and it forces me to be in the kitchen when my tiny human beings are eating breakfast. They tell me all the things way too early in the morning, so I’m able to just nod my head and say ‘oh uh uh’ while putting things away. WIN.
- I splurged on noise-cancelling headphones. Why, oh, why did I wait so long to do this? You guys, kids are so dang loud! My boys wake up at the crack of dawn and are immediately ready for a transformer versus superhero battle. I just can’t. After the breakfast chaos, I put on my headphones, and all of the ruckus goes from booming sounds in my brain to dull background noise. Plus, my kids don’t know if I’m listening to music or trash TV that’s on my laptop; it’s really great.
Things for my exhausted night self:
- Paper plates. Bless you, eco-friendly mamas; I’m so grateful for you. However, during pandemic life, I am tired of all the dishes. So, by the end of the day, I have gifted myself grace. Dinner is on paper plates. This is the hour in the day where I am just constantly staring at the clock, trying to figure out if I can actually make it to bedtime. We do not need more things at this hour.
- I made my bed when I woke up. Have you read ‘Make Your Bed’ by Admiral McRaven? If you haven’t, you should; it really is a game-changer. After a long day, there is something about coming into my room and turning down the covers, and climbing in. I truly think us mamas should get a parade at the end of each evening where we are praised for getting through yet another day, but until that time, this small task feels comforting.
A scalding hot shower. Just about every night after the kids get in bed, I take a hot shower, like so hot that when I get out, my skin is red. I do not care. I also lay down in the shower because standing up takes too much energy. This is my nightly therapy. I literally and figuratively wash the crap off from the day and breathe. If you don’t do anything else, find something ritualistic that you can do every night for yourself, you deserve it!
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://stlouismom.com/health-and-wellness/taking-care-of-my-sweet-self-daily-rituals-that-make-loving-myself-easy/&media=https://stlouismom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled-design-5-1-scaled.jpg&description="Taking care of my sweet self" is a goal Natalie has set for herself. Setting ritualistic self care goals ensures that she is cared for every single day.){kind=link}