It's Okay
"When you get the inside right, the outside falls into place.” (Eckhart Tolle)
I was feeling down and disconnected, hungry and tired. Wanting motivation, but unwilling to search for it. I told myself it's okay to be lonely even though my days are spent with a sweet baby on my hip. It's okay to question my place in the world. It's okay to feel like I'm making things up as I go.
I let myself be. Granted permission to sulk, snooze, simmer. Blamed my hormones and the past 11 months of sleep deprivation. Life is full of seasons and cycles, and maybe I'm just caught in a summer storm.
When I'm busy with the baby, my mind clicks and clatters with things to do and remember. When I put him down, all I want to do is collapse onto the couch and let the cushions cradle me to sleep.
The more I mother, the more I realize that taking care of myself is as important as taking care of my child. I instinctively listen for his every breath, cry, squeal, and giggle. And yet, I can barely hear myself think. This might be the way nature intended, but I need to start doing more to nurture my soul.
I wrote out daily mantras as a gentle reminder that self care begins with self talk. It's impossible to monitor or manage the millions of thoughts that whirl and whiz through my mind each day, but I can look in the mirror every morning and say seven kind, affirming things to myself.
I revisited my goals with an almost-mid-year check-in. I dropped a few that weren't serving me, crossed off the one I completed, and refocused what was left. I used a strip of my favorite washi tape, the one with gold polka dots, to post them up in my closet where I see them at least twice a day.
I committed to "daily-ish" writing, movement & meditation. These are not easy things to find time for in days filled with playdates and Target runs, laundry and nap schedules. But they are vital to my mental, physical, and spiritual health. They are at the core of who I am and who I aim to be.
So yes, it's okay to feel the feelings. And then it's okay to do all the things to get back on track.
If I sound like a broken record — like every thought I share and every post I write is a version of the one before — it's because I am. Screeching, cracking, breaking with every repetition.
It's okay. You deserve this. You need this. You matter.
At the end of the day, when the laundry is folded and the baby is sleeping, whatever’s left of me needs gentle reassurance and calm support. My shreds of patience need time to heal, my frayed nerves need mending. My mama self needs someone to take her by the hand and tuck her into bed earlier than she wants to go.
And every time I question an act of self care, wonder if there's time or space or money to do something for myself, I have to pull out my broken record and hit play once more. It's okay.
