31 Days: Taking Care of Yourself

Why yes that is Little Women in the background. It's got to be one of my favorite movies to watch as I welcome fall.

 Friday afternoon looks like this for me. I am home instead of at school because of a bad throat infection. After 3 weeks of trying to power through the pain, I ended up in the ER with a swollen throat that was barely allowing me to swallow. 

I was given medication and told to stay home. The doctor who saw me told me that this infection was presenting itself now because of a lowered immune system, stress and exhaustion.

Stress? Sure, I know it's there, but with grad school and working full time that's a given. Exhaustion? I'm sure a particular 1-year old and 3-year-old may have something to do with that. But this is nothing out of the ordinary for me. So, why now? 

While these factors are there, have been there and will continue to be there, I realize that I've been pushing through all of it, putting the work, my kids and cleaning the house first. Sleep? Exercise? Drinking enough water and eating whole foods? Not so much.

This idea that my health can take a back seat is ridiculous, and yet I've let myself believe I'd be fine. I've confused my current mother of 2, 27 year old self for the 19 year old college student who could pull all nighters and just drink coffee to get through the day.

As a working mom, I am always trying to find some sort of magical balance. Man, if I had a nickle for every time a mom used the word balance.

But honestly, there isn't some magical balance. There's a scale. And on that scale there are things that just hold more weight.

Like health.

And family.

I seem to remember the family one often but the health one doesn't seem to hold much weight for me.

The beauty of the human body is that it is forcing me to see the importance in the health factor. 

How am I to be a better mother, a better teacher or a better wife if I am not first taking care of my own physical health? This needs to become a first for me. 

Today I am thankful for a body that reminds me to take care of itself even when my mind forgets.