Song of Myself

I’ve had two events happen in the past few weeks that have radically motivated me to change aspects of my life:

Exhibit A:  I was out and about with Sam and the kids.  I had spit-up on my shirt, the hem was coming out of one pant leg, I didn’t have on socks, my makeup was smudged, an earring missing, and I couldn’t find my phone in the diaper bag.  I was yelling at Hope and shushing Atticus.  Sam was ordering coffees.  I looked outside and saw another MOM.  She was smiling, her ponytailed hair fresh and bouncy, her outfit immaculate, nails done, not pudgy at all, makeup on, and I was intensely jealous.  I could feel my eyes welling up and I asked Sam “HOW… How does she do it?  Why?  Why can’t I get myself together???? “

Exhibit B:  Our weekend getaway to Athens was fantastic.  One of the things I most enjoyed was that I was able to pay attention to myself.  I actually chewed my food at dinner.  My hair was brushed and I wore a cute dress.  I slept soundly at night and awoke refreshed.  My food consisted of fair-trade coffee, locally grown produce, and delicious vegan baked goods.  We spent the entire weekend outdoors walking.  Essentially, I felt like I was able to take care of myself. The result of this fantastic weekend was that I returned home a rested, happy mama ready to play with the kiddos.

I need so much to get away from Exhibit A and find more ways to live an Exhibit B life.  This means that I need to become a bit selfish.  Perhaps selfish is the wrong word; I need to be more…. self-caring.

This is no easy thing to accomplish.  I spend so much time cleaning the house, balancing bills, working and worrying about everything and everyone else.  Maybe I need to treat myself as well as I treat other people?  The kids are routinely bathed, their clothes are cute, mended, and clean, food is to their liking (for the most part) and nutritious.  I would never treat my children as I treat myself.  My goal is to instill in them healthy habits and I need to teach them by example and take care of myself.

My new challenge to myself is to create one goal for three separate categories (i.e. a total of three goals) for the month.  My challenge will be to devote that month to the three goals and hopefully, as a result, I’ll have some new, healthy habits.  This challenge will last a year, so by my 32^nd birthday in April I will have accomplished a great deal.

This is certainly a challenge.  I was trying to come up with different categories and I realized that I started slipping towards caring for others and not myself.  For example, I thought of doing a finances focus, but really the problem is that I scrimp and save to feed and clothe the kids and in the process forget myself.  Determining goals was tough as well; at one point making baby food, reorganizing the basement, and making homemade bread for everyone I know was on the list.  Fun and productive, but time-consuming, exhausting, and isn’t all about me.

At last I found my categories and determined my goals.  My three categories are HEALTH, APPEARANCE, and INDIVIDUALITY.  Health concerns my physical body, Appearance concerns MY perception of my body, and Individuality means that I’m thinking of myself as Amanda and not my other roles (mom, wife, sister, daughter, employee, and friend).  I’ve determined a calendar of goals in each area, but that is subject to change.  Before I discuss my May goals, I want to share some ground rules I set for myself:

1. Be reasonable:  I tried not to set unattainable goals.  I’m one of those “all or nothing” kinda gals.  If I say I’m going to exercise for an hour everyday and I don’t do it.  I’m going to throw away exercise all together and sit on the couch.  But if my goal is simply to do something outside five days a week, then I have a greater chance of getting exercise (or at the very least soak up some vitamin D).


2. No negativity:  Instead of NO FAST FOOD or LESS COFFEE or QUIT WEARING WORN OUT SHOES TO WORK, I’m focusing on positive changes.  These positive changes will, I think, help eliminate the negative behavior.  For example, if my goal is to drink 64oz of water a day, then of course I’ll end up with less coffee/soda/sugary tea, but I’ll be focusing on taking in water and not on all the things I can’t have.


3. Practice awareness:  I want these things to become habits or at the very least things I can do without guilt (like going away for the weekend or leaving Atticus in daycare a bit longer to get a pedicure).  This means I need to stop and think about myself while I’m doing these things.  How do I feel? How do I look? How different will this make my life?

Okay, on to May’s goals!

• HEALTH:  Make a vegan meal one night a week.  This was going to be making a vegetarian meal, but since I’m dairy-free, I figure I might as well go vegan.


• APPEARANCE:  Put together a Spring/Summer wardrobe that reflects my personality.  This means cleaning out my closets, getting rid of the stained and unflattering garments, ditching my last bit of maternity wear, setting a budget, planning out purchases (because I’m poor) and expressing myself.  I want to make sure that I don’t focus solely on work-clothes and I have a few things to wear on the weekends.


• INDIVIDUALITY:   Journaling for 15 minutes a day.  My blog has truly become my journal, but I still love the feel of pen on paper.  My goal is to journal at the end of every day.  However, it will be more like a list of what happened during the day.  I love those types of diaries!  It will be fun to have a reflection on my day and all the accomplishments.  In addition, I’ll get down all the milestones Atticus and Hope reach.

Expect periodic updates on my progress and I welcome feedback and advice.  My first task is to make a vegan meal Saturday night.  I’m leaning towards Gazpacho, but I’d love to hear of other recipes and suggestions.  Wish me luck!