Self Care

My first car that I bought had a broken gas gauge. It was a 1993 green Ford Taurus with grey cloth interior, and it was mine. I loved my car. However, I never really knew how much gas I had. As a broke college student, I wasn’t the best when it came to making sure that I had gas. And on the rare occasion I filled up; I would estimate how far I could go before I would need to get more gas.

Now, this is not the best way to make sure that you can get where you need to go. What is more difficult about being a poor college student and making my dollars stretch was that sometimes, my mileage estimates were not always right and sometimes, on more than one occasion, I ended up having to walk to the gas station with a gas jug that I kept in my trunk. ⁠And yes, after the second or third time of running out of gas, I kept an empty gas can in the trunk of my car.

This is a pattern too many of us follow. ⁠We would rather keep a gas can in the trunk, than stop and get gas before we run out.

As women and as mothers, there is always more to do and more to take care of. So we push through to the next project. We push through to the next paycheck. We push through to the next break. We push through to the weekend.⁠

It is so easy and socially acceptable to overly expend our energy and push through, hoping we can get to the next thing.⁠

If all we do is push though, we will end up on the side of the road with our gas can, walking, because we did not pay attention to our gas, or our energy. ⁠

Rest and recovery are necessary. ⁠We have to rest our body, mind, heart, and soul and make sure that we have time to recover from the energy they have expended. ⁠

There will always be more to do, so it is important for you to plan to get gas.

Below are five things I like to do to rest and recover.

1.      Sleep. This sounds lame, I know, but sleep is one of the most important recovery pieces. I often do not get enough sleep, so making sure that I practice good sleep hygiene and prepare myself for bed so that I can get good sleep.

2.      Walk. This is also lame, but necessary. I have found that a brief 30 minute walk outside, even in the cold or heat really rejuvenates me. Being outside is important and having that 30 minutes outside has become important.

3.      Dance. One of the best things that I have learned about my children is that they love to dance. (They get it from their mama!) During this pandemic, we have had so many dance parties. It has been so fun and is great for our relationship.

4.      Pray. I have increased my prayer life so much. From short under my breathe prayers to full out, holler in the house prayers. I remember, as a child, my grandmother would have loud shouting Holy Ghost prayers. I have now become my grandmother.

5.      Write. For a long time, my thoughts would just stay in my head or I would talk them out, but now, I set aside time to write. Writing is a passion of mine and I lost that passion for a long time. When writing was my jobby job, I hated it! I am now using my writing as rest. Just jotting down notes or scribbling phrases lets me release and when I am ready, I can come back to them.

Please visit me on Instagram and let me know how you rest and recover.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own.