Long ago, when I was young and naïve and did not have children yet, I saw a magnet on a friend’s refrigerator that said, “A mother’s work is never done.” Back then, I didn’t get it. Sure, it takes a lot of work to raise a family. But aren’t there quiet times when dinner is ready, laundry is folded, and kids are happily playing with their toys?
Two decades later, I know not only that laundry doesn’t always get folded before being handed to the kid who has nothing to wear right this moment, but also that quiet times rarely just happen. Quiet times, like everything else in our homes, need to be consciously created.
Moreover, for both parents and kids, quiet times are not a luxury but a necessity. Dishes can wait but ours, and our children’s, physical and emotional health cannot be relegated to the back burner.
It’s easy to get sucked into the marathon of parenting. There is truly no end to what needs to be done. At the end of the day, we recognize that it is physically impossible to keep up with everything we dump onto our To Do list. We begin to expect that we will drop some balls along the way, and we no longer berate ourselves for not being able to juggle all of them.
As parents, and especially as homeschoolers, we learn to prioritize. What that looks like is different for every family, depending on their children’s needs. Some families put more emphasis on music than on math. Others do a lot of travel, even if that comes at the expense of regular handwriting practice. Yet others must adjust their diet to a family member’s health needs and spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
But one thing we as parents have in common is that we tend to prioritize everybody else’s needs over our own. We feel guilty taking time to take care of ourselves.
Why is self-care important? Besides the obvious reasons – we need to stay alive and healthy in order to take care of our families – there are also bigger, universal reasons. Each one of us is unique and brings unique gifts to the world. When we tune into our Divine gifts, we can grow as human beings and actualize our potential.
This might seem like adding another item to our To Do list, but I’ve learned from experience that human beings are much happier when we are involved in what we were meant to do in the world. And when we’re happier, we are not only more efficient and productive, but we are also better parents.
Our goal as parents is to help our children actualize their own full potential. And, like with everything else, the best way to teach is by example. When our children see us learning, growing, and busy with things we are passionate about, they will be inspired and encouraged to grow as human beings – without taking more space on our To Do list.
Are you learning and growing as a parent and as a person? Tell us about it in the comments!
Need more information and inspiration about self-care for homeschoolers? Attend February’s live session, Why the Homeschool Mama Needs Self-Care, and Why Self-Care is More than Netflix, Dark Chocolate and the Spa by Teresa Wiedrick. This event is part of Digital Homeschool Convention 2020 2021 School Year Sessions.
Want to attend for free? You can, with a free trial of Digital Homeschool Convention Membership. You’ll also gain access to all the bundles and prior event recordings – more resources to help you grow as a parent and as a person.
I totally agree. And the thing about self care is if you don’t do it, it will catch up with you! Don’t wait until your kids are grown (like many of us do), and remember that modeling self care shows our kiddos how to take care of themselves too!