Routines

Sheri here,

Here it is September, the Fall of the year and life is getting really busy.

I have a friend who says their year starts in September, a throwback to school, even as an adult, and they aren’t an educator. I’ve not thought of a year starting with school in quite some time.

The End of the Year is Around the Corner!

Now, it is a quick march to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the other December holidays and New Year’s Eve. In my opinion, once we hit October, the calendar flip is around the corner.

Since I finished the writing part of my book, Everything I Learned About Life I Learned on Vacation, my life accelerated. I started the promotion and suddenly things that I had forgotten about seemed to jump into hyper mode.

During a time like this, I need to be very careful, because one of the first things that goes for me is self-care, taking care of me.

Self-Care – Daily Routines 

What I’m talking about when I say self-care are those daily morning and evening patterns:

• connecting with your Higher Power or God;
• taking care of your needs;
• assuring adequate nutritious food;
• preparing for the day;
• performing a gratitude practice; and
• getting enough good sleep.

I’ve had a gratitude practice for decades, and I am grateful for my rich full life today, just slow it down a tad. Of course, there is that whole concept of being careful what you ask for, you just might get it, in an unexpected form.

For more information about a gratitude practice and World Gratitude Day, September 21 of every year, see my blog post Celebrating Gratitude and A Challenge.

Put Your Oxygen Mask on First

Self-care is where you put your oxygen mask on first. No one else can do this for you and you cannot help another person if you are deprived of sleep, good food, or self-care.

In some self-care routines, you can enlist someone else to assist you, a nice spa treatment for example, or a cup of tea or coffee with a friend. These rituals could be a special reward for completing some goal, large or small, or just part of your regular routine. You get to choose.

Remember those preventive care doctor appointments, the check-ups with the dentist, vaccinations, annual tests, etc. They also need to be scheduled and attended.

Self-care Is Mandatory 

I know I need to be reminded sometimes. I really try to look at my self-care practices as mandatory.

These routines are as important as something like loving our family, supporting our friends or our community, but none of those are available without looking after ourselves, first.

Some of these may need to be squeezed in between the spaces of other activities, but this an important part of personal self-care.

We can support our loved ones in getting some of these routines done. You can support them, but not do it for them, just like they can’t do these rituals for you. Maybe we attend them together, but we have to do them individually!

This is the part of life that happens or needs to happen, while you are planning other things.

If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will do it for you.

How about you? What do you think, do you agree, have a comment or appreciate the reminder? Leave a comment and let me know.

Around Town

My Everything I Learned About Life I Learned on Vacation book is still in prepublication sale. Publication is targeted for October. If you’d like to take advantage of the special gift of the second book for only $5, just go here!

Thank you to all of you who have already support this effort – big virtual hug!

Have a blessed week.

Ciao,

Sheri