5 Minutes for Mum

Are you neglecting yourself?

I've been meaning to trim my nails for about a week now. With that realisation there came another, I have neglected myself in almost every way. I have continued practicing the basics of course, showers every day and  brushing my teeth twice a day but apart from that... I haven't even moisturised! It's no wonder I feel like the dogs dinner and it drives home just how important self maintenance really is.

It's not the same for everyone, I know, but there needs to be something in your routine that says, "I am looking after me in this moment."

Just a few minutes is all it takes, whether it's smearing on a face mask , whipping up a mango smoothie or a short walk around the block, anything that benefits you and you alone.

Too busy for you? I've seen mothers who work part time, ferry their children to and from various extra curricular activities, pay the bills, hang the washing, vacuum the floor and get dinner on the table, managing to take a few hours off to keep their highlights in check and I try to tell myself I'm too busy to trim a few toenails!! What's wrong with this picture?
I'm not talking daily bubble baths or running a marathon on your lunch break, just basic upkeep of the mind, body and soul.

Fact is, once upon a time, I saw this behavior as vanity and nothing more.

A beauty routine  was for those who wanted to or believed they were (outwardly) beautiful.

Fitness fanatics where people who wanted to be thin and/or muscle bound, obsessed with the perfect bikini body.

Smoothie whippers where, well, strangely obsessed with liquid food and the idea that less chewing created a basis for weight loss.

The smoothie thing still doesn't work for me, I like a good liquid meal every now and again and I now see the benefits of packing masses of nutrients into one glass of goodness but for me it just didn't catch.

Fitness, do you realise how good it feels to be fit? Forget about how good you look, it FEELS amazing to have that much more energy. You practically bounce out of bed in the morning! If you do nothing else for yourself, take a walk, just a short one every day and tell me you don't feel better for it in a week or two.

Beauty has been the most surprising revelation for me. Appreciation of your skin is so important.

First and foremost it's the maintenance of your body's largest organ, it protects everything within us and yet it is so fragile, a piece of paper can tear a hole through it. There is something about caring for your skin that feels nurturing, comforting, relaxing and 100% all about you.

Tonight, I left the washing in the basket. I went to the bathroom, moisturised my dehydrated skin, cut my nails and now I feel like pulling the Wii fit board out.

It doesn't matter if any of this stuff helps you look better. What's infinitely more important is how it makes you feel. A moment for you can not only improve your physical health but your mental health as well, An area too many ignore.