Radical Self-Care

The one thing that I did not consider when taking on homeschooling my son was how much more important taking care of myself was going to become. I speaking to basic things like getting enough sleep, getting enough to eat, and having enough time to rest my physical body and renew my mind. In order to provide the best experience for my son, I have to try to be at my best every day because we're going to be together all day!

When I worked full time outside the home, if I was tired or stressed out the stakes weren't so high. I didn't have a little person with me all the time, watching everything I was doing and depending on me for his needs. If I was a little short with a client or a co-worker it was not as though I had to live with them, feed them, take them to the potty, and hug them when they got bumps and bruises. Realistically, I need a lot more creative capacity and patience to work well with my son ongoingly than I did to deal with a difficult work situation! At the most, I would work with a client for an hour and a half and then I would get a break. Several days a week I'm with my son from the time he rises until it's time for bed.

So, I've had to become more disciplined and to enact "radical self-care." I now have a set bedtime. I now have a morning routine that allows me to recharge spiritually. Physically, at a minimum I take a walk with our dog for at least 30 minutes most mornings. I don't allow myself to get distracted by email or other technical temptations for certain time periods of the day. On the days when we're home, I'll put on 1 hour of Sesame Street at about 2pm so that I can take a nap of the couch while he watches TV. This gives me a boost so that I won't burn out by 5pm. (Every once in a while I'll wake up with him curled up asleep next to me.) I have also made sure that Saturday is my "day off" and I typically work teaching yoga in the mornings and then my husband takes our son to soccer in the afternoon. This leaves me some "alone" time. I recently decided to observe a day of rest from sun down on Saturday until sun down on Sunday. I don't check email or do house cleaning during this time. This is to ensure some down time with my family during which I can recharge, be present, and relax.

This is a big lesson for me on endurance; harnessing the power to reliably be present, engaged, and at my optimum for my son. By observing my own patterns and creating a supporting structure to my day, I am succeeding one day at a time.