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Grandparents make a difference in the lives of grandchildren. But I believe that intentional grandparenting has the potential to make an incredible difference! I also believe that intentional grandparenting is a whole lot easier when we do a self-care check in on these three essential areas: mental, physical, and spiritual.
I find that each new season is the perfect time to do a little assessment of each of those areas, and make some changes if needed. It’s been a crazy Spring in my world, and I have let some things slide. Well…to be honest, a lot of things!
This lack of taking care of myself results in me feeling sluggish and a bit melancholy. I’m anxious to hit the reset button and wanted to share a few things that we all may find helpful.
In This Post
Self-care Check in Essential #1 – Mental
Zap those negative thoughts friends!
We have a little bug catcher outside near our patio seating area. It’s amazing how many little bugs it catches! Hmmm…..can I learn a lesson from this little contraption? I think so! I need to do a better job of ’catching’ and stopping negative thoughts in their tracks!
Lately, I have allowed some thoughts to creep into my mind trying to convince me that because I don’t see the grandkids that often, maybe I am losing ground in our relationship.
Now hear me loud and clear when I say I really don’t believe that is true!
After all, we created Over the River to cheer on grandparents making a difference no matter where they live in relation to their grandkids! But we all have our down days, right?
So to shut these little thoughts down, I am going to:
- Go back and read some of my favorite posts on the Over the River website.
- Keep a list handy, or make a grandkids notes section on my phone and write down fun moments from the interactions we do have. For example, today Amanda sent a picture of my youngest granddaughter Kami pretending to drive the car, declaring that she is “driving to Papa and Amma’s house”. Morgan (age 5) wanted her mom to send a picture of her outfit to me the other day. These are sweet little moments that encourage me to keep up the intentionality!
Essential #2 -Nutrition/Fitness
Get back on track!
Physically, I have fallen off the exercise and nutrition train. Projects around the home, caring for parents, and crazy schedules have had a major impact on my attention to those areas. I know I am not at my best in any area of my life when I’m not taking care of myself physically, so I am doing the following:
- Restarting my subscription to E-meals, a meal planning company. It just gives me the help I need when planning on my own sounds like too much. I love the different meal plan options, I love that it syncs with a variety of stores for grocery pick up. I love that I actually save money because I’m not figuring out what to cook last minute. I love that I can switch at any time between different types of meal plans, from Kid Friendly plans, to Paleo to Heart Healthy and more!
- Getting in a little extra movement whenever I can. This morning I read an article from Jon Acuff. He encouraged people to not wait for the perfect timing for to do things, or to do things only after ‘this and that’ are done. Just ‘get it in when you can fit it in”. That’s my plan. And I will feel better for it!
Self-care Check in Essential #3 – Spiritual
The practice of praying and reading my Bible each day helps me understand how to care for and treat people well.
I also think it buoys my own spirit!
Typically I choose a new Bible study at the beginning of each season, and I’ve got my summer study ordered and on the way! It’s called Summer In the Psalms – a 40 Day Devotional.
I’ll be encouraged to think through the following questions each day…what am I learning about God’s character? How do I see God around me? And what is one action step I can take today based on what I am learning?
These areas of life are far too important to ignore! I know that each time I do a little self-care check in and take a good look at these three essential areas, the positive changes spill over into my relationships with those around me, most importantly with my grown kids and my grandkids.
Our families will be blessed right along with us as we pursue health this Summer!