Sometimes You Feel Like a Nap

No expectations. No worries. I love these pups. Yesterday, I came through the door to all 7 of them lined up on the hardwood floor snoozing away. Minutes before they’d been excitedly licking, exploring, and playing amidst the delighted sounds from our kids.

One thing I love about pups is that they invariably take the time to care for their needs. No shame, no guilt about it. No expectations, no looming deadlines. If its time to sleep, its time to sleep! Hungry? No problem…just head to the food bowl (or maybe the garbage can, or even just dig a carrot up from the garden).

I’d love to follow in those paw prints.

Though, that is much easier said than done in our human existence. The fact remains that we do have deadlines, responsibilities, the needs of others to fill. Though checking out does seem appealing, we have a calling to more. And that, too, is good.

Perhaps for me, in my current season of parenting my five, planning and preparing for a new season on the farm, and welcoming our newest guests to the farm, I need to accept that self care must be inextricably intertwined with a planning for it.

And it must be non-negotiable. I would bet that those pups consider their naps non-negotiable. Yes, non-negotiable and specific for me - what I need at the time.

For the pups, sometimes its a nap and sometimes its a belly rub! For me, sometimes its an activity alone, a quiet time for thinking, and other times its just something thats fun, or with a whole group of people. Whatever our self-care looks like, it is necessary, right, and good.

Here are some of my favorite ways to recharge:

• Cease my activity, and actually sit down for a cup of coffee in the afternoon

• Read a classic novel

• Cuddle/laugh/play with one of our dogs

• Carve out time for a slow-paced walk

• Meet with a friend to connect

• Smile, breathe, and have gratitude for the little things

• Get a massage, pedicure

• Journal thoughts, ideas, how I’m feeling

What are yours?