I recently posted on my Instagram about doing your best with whatever it is that you’re doing, and it struck a chord with me, so I thought I’d bring it to my readers here. As a mom, or parent in general, we are often found juggling many hats. I think it just goes with the job – you can’t parent without somehow mastering multitasking. I think we have all innately mastered it without even trying, because we know we simply gotta do what we gotta do. As cool as I think that is, it makes me think if I am always trying to do my best with any task, and I’m not just striving to do my best when it comes to mothering. One thing I have learned as a mom is you have to intentionally make time to do the things that bring you joy, or you can easily lose yourself in your children. And because I know that to be true, as I have found myself deeply focused on my kids and not myself, I am here to challenge you to be intentional about the things you love to do – outside of your children.

In honor of continuing my stream of transparency, I’ll tell you that I have been toying at the next thoughts for a while now, and I guess writing it down is going to make it more real. So, after you finish reading this blog, I want you to make your own list of things that you want to intentionally do for yourself to bring you joy and make you happy. Please make sure it is strictly for you – not for your kids, not for your husband or wife, and not for anyone else. Once you’ve written them all down, start tackling one task as time, so you can put all of your energy into starting it. Isn’t that the hardest part – getting started?

Number one on my list right now is reading. I read all of the time when I was younger, and to be frank, I was quite good at it. I was always and excellent reader, and I’d often say that English was my favorite subject in school back then. I remember a period in high school where I frequented my neighborhood library digging for books that deeply interested me. I have no shame in telling you they were all juicy, fiction books, but nonetheless, they were books. Fast forward to all these years later, and I hardly every pick-up a book. The glaring fact of the matter is I know that I really want to read, but I never put enough effort into making time to read. Now I will say that I blame some of that on technology – I rather watch a movie nowadays than read, but I want to get back to more modern times and actually turn the pages of a book that I can hold in my hands.

So now, it’s your turn to start your list. Write down all of the things you want to be intentional about this year and make extra efforts to complete them. This is a part of your self care! If you’d like, take time to write a comment, and share one of the things you want to check off your list. I’d love to see and cheer you on as you set at to accomplish it.