A dear mommy friend of mine and I were talking recently about finding balance when all we want to do is slump on the floor and pull our hair out…
We were standing in line together, waiting to pick the kids up from an after-school program, and talking about how exhausted we become taking care of everybody else… but ourselves. She said she had a similar conversation with a neighbor who posed a very curious question: “Do you think anyone would really want YOU to live out the Golden Rule?”
When you think about it on the surface, of course, people want us to treat them as we want to be treated. However, how do we actually treat ourselves each day, mommas?
So many of us are extremely giving and nurturing, which is why we’re great moms, wives, partners, friends, workers, etc. If we treated others as we treat ourselves, though, that would be scary. We give so much that there’s nothing left. How many years have we wiped butts, bathed, lotioned up, snuggled, chauffeured, read to, and cooked for our kids? I want that done for me! Well, maybe not the butt-wiping part, but you get my gist. 😉
I really love how that question got through to me: What would my life be like if I treated myself as I treat others? It brought me to the revelation of what the Golden Rule of Motherhood is, and how I change my life for the better because of it. I have begun to make a more concentrated effort to treat myself better.
It’s the little things… shaving my legs, leaving my hair down, EATING all three meals for a change, taking time to go off and read a book by myself. And, you know what? My husband and daughter are not suffering at all. In fact, they seem even happier that I’m taking care of myself. And, I still have plenty of myself left over for them – go figure!
I’ve written other posts over the years encouraging myself and all you Cincy Moms to take better care of ourselves, but this recent conversation was the mind shift I needed to start putting this into consistent action.
What are you going to do today to start treating yourself as you treat everybody else?
