You pulled it off! 

Every kid got what they wanted for Christmas. 

You were worried about hosting this year, because getting a turkey right is not for the faint of heart.

You traveled safely to see relatives.

And are you ready to take on what’s coming in the new year? At the very least, you hope you are. You haven’t really had a chance to think about it yet.

Don’t worry, now is the perfect time to do just that, and I want to help you because I bet there is one person you didn’t take such good care of this past holiday season. No, it wasn’t that one kid of yours who likes to tell you they are unsatisfied. It wasn’t your husband, or even your husband’s mother! No, the person who could still use some attention is right there looking back at you from the mirror. 

Don’t cry. I know you have poured your heart into the perfect holiday season, but it’s time to decide how you are going to care for yourself this year, so you can have physical and emotional energy to keep being the amazing mom God has obviously made you to be!

In 2024, you are going to get real about important fact: No one else on the planet is given the primary task of taking care of you. When you were a child, it was your parents’ job, but now it’s yours. 

I want you to keep on being the amazing mother and wife you’ve always been, but to do so, you must make sure that you are able. You must care for yourself and your needs. It should be you first, or you will not be able to fulfill your other responsibilities. This is hard for us, because as Christians we know we are to put others first. That’s true in a sense, but I’m talking about logic here. How will you put others first if you don’t survive? Plus, if you don’t meet your own needs, someone else will have to. You won’t be putting that person first if you’re making them do for you what you are supposed to do for yourself!

So, no more arguments. You need to focus on taking care of you and divide self-care into four categories: spiritual, physical, emotional, and social.

Spiritual

 You are a spiritual being. Seek to know God and have a relationship with the one who created you. Make time for this daily. For many of us, doing this in the morning is a great way to set ourselves up for walking with God the rest of the day.

Emotional

 So much is improved when we tend to our emotional health. First, let me say that if you find yourself chronically anxious, fearful or sad, it’s a good sign that you may be neglecting some wounds. See a therapist and do some work to sort some of it out. Be careful of quick fixes (substance or distraction). In the short term, emotional self-care will be painful to the degree you need it, but in the long term, your life will be improved more than you can possibly now know. Perhaps you can just start with keeping a journal and reflecting weekly or even daily.

Physical

There are lots and lots of nuances when it comes to physical self-care. I own a wellness business, so I could write several books on the subject. . . and one day, I will! But the basics most people neglect are sleep, exercise and a reasonably healthy diet. After that, we can talk supplements and technology to optimize health. The question you must ask yourself is, “Where am I at with my physical health?”

a. Has it been a while since you’ve been to the doctor? If so, schedule an appointment.

b. Do you move every day? If not, start small and take baby steps toward regular exercise.

c. Do you include healthy food in your diet? Again, take baby steps. Rather than depriving yourself, commit to adding something healthy.

d. How are you sleeping? What must you do to get seven or eight hours of sleep per night? Prioritize it.

Social

 For many of us, getting married and having kids was the end of social life. This makes perfect sense, considering we only have so much time. What is one thing you could do to expand your social life? If you are doing nothing, schedule one day or night on the calendar per month to go with a friend for coffee. One danger of not doing this is that you try to make your husband, or even worse, one of your kids, your best friend!

 Well folks, that was the short and sweet intro to self-care. You deserve it, and your family needs you to be the best you can be. If you neglect you, your family; heck, the world, will lose out on the great value you bring to it.