Three Reasons to Take Care of Yourself
Caregiving grandmas need care too! We’ve got this precious one depending on us and – surprise! – we’re not getting any younger. I need to take care of myself so I have the energy and clear-headedness to take care of that energetic granddaughter of mine!
Children (just like the rest of us) are needy. She needs healthy food, regular bedtimes, educational games, a listening ear, time and attention. But it takes a lot from me to be able to give that to her. And yeah. I’m just not as young as I used to be. Staying down on the floor to play with the grands is a challenge. The hips start to protest after a while. And getting UP again! Well, that requires some major effort!
Taking care of yourself through healthy living and finding ways to relax combats stress, prevents burnout and breakdown, and models for your grands how to take care of themselves.
Self-care Reduces Stress
Finding ourselves raising this second generation is stressful. Being parents of adult children who are unable to care for their own kids can add even more stress to our lives. Who needs all that stress! We can’t always change our life circumstances, but we can manage and reduce the toll that stress can take by taking care of our selves.
Self-care Prevents Burnout and Breakdown
We can’t afford physical or mental collapse. That’s the definition of burnout. If you feel frequently on edge, unmotivated, or resentful you may be heading for burnout. Other indications you might be heading for a breakdown are low energy, feeling you’re always in a hurry, or excessive worry or self-criticism. By putting preventative measures in place, by caring for our selves, we can head off burnout or breakdown.
Self-care Models for Our Grandchildren
We know that actions speak louder than words. We want our children to treat others with kindness, to take time for God in their lives, to be responsible, to be creative, so we do our best to model those actions. We treat those around us kindly. We take ourselves and our grands to church. We model responsibility and creativity. The same goes for self-care. If we want these precious ones of our to establish healthy habits, practicing those healthy habits ourselves will go a long way.
What Does Self-Care Look Like?
In a nut shell: adequate sleep, regular exercise, and healthy diet. Making and keeping doctor and dentist appointments for preventive (and other) care. That’s caring for your physical needs. Then there’s mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Like: giving yourself some “me” space or time, giving yourself permission to follow your passion.
So. Yeah. I’m probably the worst person to be giving you this advice. Getting enough sleep? It’s so hard to get myself to go to bed at a reasonable time. I mean the house is quiet at night! Everyone else is asleep! There’s my me-time! But that seven-year-old is going to be up bright and early. You know that book that says children need 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night? Well, she’s on the ten side. Sometimes a little less. And she is going to wake up energized and raring to go!
Caring for myself in this way is always on-going for me. So I’m talking to myself here too!
As a parent I knew that self-care was important. Now as a grandparent raising my granddaughter it’s even more important. After all, I want to still be around when she graduates from high school!