Self care: it's okay to say "not today."

Last night I wrote the following for my IG post:

It's okay to say "not today."

At night when I scroll, I can feel your fatigue through my phone. I have it, too. Whether you're a solopreneur, a mom, a CEO, a caregiver, a partner, a hustler, a 9-to-5'er...I feel you. Most of the US got blasted with snow this week and we are still in this godforsaken pandemic. I haven't left my house since Saturday.

It's okay if you cancel tomorrow's agenda. Self care isn't taking a shower by yourself or drinking coffee in your car. It isn't eating lunch, either. You didn't earn those calories, your body needs them!

Self care is setting boundaries so that we can manage our anxiety and everyday stress. Self care, for me, means I can take a bath at 5pm and then cook dinner for my family at 6pm. That's allowed. There's no rule book or script. Guess what that means?

YOU CAN WRITE YOUR RULES so give yourself a break. Stay in bed, binge watch that Netflix show, do the meditation, cook something yummy and give yourself permission to pause. 🌿

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The comments started flooding in. I thought to myself, “Wow, I really struck a chord here.” For the last six months I’ve focused on content that touches on the topic of IBS awareness and body positivity. There is purpose behind it but something was tugging on me to create this post. I already had it written on my head.

I think we’ve become a little numb to the stress and confinement of the last 365 days. We’ve forgotten or become complacent that none of this is normal. Parents feel weary, sometimes deflated and out of creative ideas. Some of us have cozied up to the slowness and learned to appreciate more home centric lifestyle. All of this is okay. All of it.

Because I follow a lot of moms on social media, I’ve been absorbing the weight of all of this. The fatigue and emotion of wanting to scream silently into a pillow yet we thoroughly enjoy the extra snuggles and stolen hugs between Zoom calls. I get it. I see you. I hear you.

The biggest thing we can do is band together, extend kindness and help each other out. Dads, too! Some days feel heavy and some days are magical. Tomorrow is a new day.