Winter is always a hard season for me. I wouldn’t say I suffer from full on “depression” per say, but I definitely get some form of the “winter blues.” The holidays are over, the weather is dreary, and my motivation just isn’t there. Add in being 5 months postpartum and you have a recipe for disaster. These are all things I can’t change or control, so I tried to think of something I could. That’s when the “7 days of me” idea came into play. I decided to take one week, seven whole days, to focus more on myself. I hopped on Instagram and asked my friends to join, in order to fully commit myself, and I made the #7daysofmechallenge.
I thought for a minute about what things make me feel happy, things that make me feel good about myself. I came up with a long list and picked a few that I could implement during the week; some planned, some I ended up doing on a whim. The results were magical and I wondered to myself, why I didn’t think of this sooner.
7 Days of Me Challenge
STEP ONE: Put on “real” clothes.
The first thing I knew I had to do was to get out of the sweats and mom-bun lifestyle I had created, since being a stay-at-home mom. I committed to this routine: do my hair, put on makeup, brush my teeth, and put on “real” clothes every single day. Was it easy? Sure. Did it take some effort? Yes. But did it make me feel ten times better? Absolutely! I wrote in my journal,
“Getting ready each day has made me realize I CAN take care of myself WHILE being a mom to four kids under the age of 7. It’s OK to take that 30 minutes or an hour for myself while the baby is napping and the others are playing.”
STEP TWO: Get out of the house.
Each day, I made sure we had some type of activity planned that would get us out of the house. Even if it was just running to the grocery store for milk. Now, this is no easy task with three little ones in tow. For example, on day one, I got everyone up and out the door by 10am for Story Time at the Library. Everyone was having a great time and then the baby leaned forward too fast and bumped her head on the chair before I could catch her. She instantly started screaming and, of course, all the heads turned. Normally, I would have been so embarrassed that I would have gathered everyone up and left immediately. But not this time! I smiled politely and calmed the baby down as fast as I could. Did I feel stupid? You bet. But this challenge was about enjoying myself, not worrying what everyone else was thinking.
STEP THREE: Take time for some self-care.
As a mom, we tend to easily forget about our own needs. It’s been about 3 years since I last had a haircut, it’s just never a priority. So this week, I made an appointment and randomly decided to chop a good 6 inches off. It was so needed, and it felt so good. A few other things I took time for were, a nice warm bubble bath, a Target run, my nails, a nap with the kids instead of cleaning, and spending time with some great friends.
#7daysofmechallenge results
The ultimate reward at the end of the week was when I took a minute to sit down and reflect. I noticed I was more willing to take my kids out of the house to do something fun. I was more patient with them. I was more productive. I did more positive thinking. I was nicer to those around me. My relationship with my husband was better. My attitude literally did a 180.
Now the question I ask myself is, will I continue to do this every single day? Probably not. There will be days that I stay in sweats and focus all my energy on the kids. But will I make a more conscious effort to take a little time for myself? You bet I will! And I extend the challenge to each one of you. I promise it will help those long winter days be just a little bit better.
