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Three Self-care Tips for You and I
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to focus on kindness. We’re doing that here at Over the River with the recent release of February’s Timely Tips – the Kindness Issue. And Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th!
Just imagine what can be accomplished as we focus on being kind to others, in February and beyond!
We feel we would be remiss though if we didn’t spend just a bit of time reminding all of you wonderful grandparents to be kind to yourselves!
Today we’ll take a look at three tips we can all use that will help us thrive. And, best of all, these three tips will enable us to help our grandkids thrive as well!
Toss Out the ‘Should Haves’
This one is number one on my list!
I spend far too much time looking back at what I should have done, rather than keeping my eyes focused on the opportunities right in front of me.
For example, that birthday box I wrote about recently? I missed the pickup schedule for my local mail carrier!
I cried.
And then I phoned Amanda and told her the party box would most likely be late.
I ‘should have’ given myself an extra day. I ‘should have’ made sure it all fit in the box earlier! I ‘should have’ purchased the little tiaras earlier too.
But you know what? We still had a FaceTime party, and it was so much fun.
We can take this a step further and actually say encouraging things to ourselves.
Proclaim instead, what you learned from your ‘should have’ moment, and then move on to what is in front of you! This is an essential truth for our grandkids to learn as well!
Quit Comparing
Oh, it can be so easy to look around (or just spend 5 minutes on social media!) and compare someone else’s highlights to our regular selves.
Soon we are saying to ourselves, I need to lose weight, I need to redecorate my house, I need a vacation…..
Now – some of those things may be true, but we need to address them out of a desire to be our best self, not out of the endless comparison game that can become our daily lives if we allow it to.
Let’s focus instead on what is unique and essential for ourselves and our families. And let’s share those unique and essential things with your grandkids, who are inundated daily with opportunities to play the comparison game themselves.
Find Something You Love to Do
Just a few years ago, our lives were scheduled for us far more than by us.
I actually spent a period of time living in fear that there wouldn’t be a ‘me’ when we became empty-nesters. I was a mom, a co-worker, a friend, a daughter….but I had lost a little bit of what made me ‘me’.
So I started an old-fashioned binder. I filled it with ideas…..recipes to try, hikes to go on, scenic roads to travel, a hobby to explore.
Things that appealed to me!
I would urge you to spend some time finding or enjoying something you love that is just for you.
I guarantee it will be a welcome little retreat that fills you up! And it’s fun to share with the grandkids what we are doing, and how it makes us feel.
Let Us Know!
We’d love to hear from you! We check our email hello@overtheriverlife.com every day.
Tell us – how are you kind to yourself? (This is our sneaky little way of trying to hold you accountable, hoping you will take a few minutes and identify what fills your own bucket!)