REM and Rest

Have you ever been so tired that you could sleep for an entire day? Believe it or not that happened to me recently. I came to the realization that I had been going and going for too long without proper rest. and having a toddler still in my bed was not helping.

I could feel my muscles literally coming to a stand-still as if to say to me, no we are not moving another inch until we have a proper rest. The only way I could describe what was happening was like the tin man, I felt like I needed an oil can to get me moving again, and to go along with it, I was hoarding emotions, health issues, and all the fun things you can't see. I can admit here that this past 2 months has been very difficult on my emotional state. To be completely honest between the mood swings, lack of sleep, irritations, depression and on the verge of a breakdown, I stepped on the scale one day and found I had gained 10 lbs!!! not like me for sure! So is it possible to hoard all the things you can't see?

I was, and it caught up with me and I was so grateful for a Sunday where I was not required to do anything. I slept almost the whole day, Ok so it was off and on throughout the day, but as I was relating the situation to my son, he said,"mom, your body needs it, remember you keep telling me that" ok, use my words to remind me that my body needs rest as well.

So here I am on the internet with a message, Don't let this happen to you. If it does, take it for what it is and rest! It's a principle I'm calling 10% for your health.

We do all kinds of things in life, we spend our time eating out, being of service, working hard, taking care of the kids, making sure everything runs smoothly all the time. Sometimes we are not allowed to have a breakdown because we are required to be strong for everyone else.  The reality is that it catches up.

I had a conversation with a dear friend recently and we talked about how important it is to take the time, money etc.. and prioritize ourselves a bit. I'm not talking about becoming self-centered, I'm talking about becoming aware that our - self, needs to be taken care of. We can do the basics like food and shelter, but when it comes to loving our self and making sure we are healthy we often fall short.

I'm super good at telling my kids, husband, friends... how they need to take care of themselves, and I truly mean it, I want the best for them, but I didn't think I needed it myself, I believed it was my duty to be unbreakable. I may have been afraid to show weakness, but when it puts you down in bed for a whole day and you get exhausted from battling the depression, it's time to do something different.

So I took my own advice, I went to a massage therapist, I bought myself some make-up, and then I went to the doctor. looks like my thyroid is a little low, so it's time for this mom to come alive and take care of myself, it's going to be a new challenge as I find a way to begin, but for now, I'm going to go ride my bike :)