I am fully aware that I constantly tell parents and caregivers to relax in a multitude of “simple” ways. I actually feel them thinking “yea right, I have no time.” Lately I have been extremely busy producing two events, A Day of Joy and A Musical Intervention and I have 28 hours of 1:1 therapy with three children/families plus I present workshops here and there… I am busy. I am busy with things I love. I have also found time to soak.
Before living where I do, and I was looking for apartments, there was a great one with so many wonderful attributes, but only a stall shower. I did not take it.
This last time I was soaking in my tub, I thought “if I were a parent , I would have to adjust to the banging and knocking at the door…” I know the importance of ignoring the problem, not the child. Just as I would adjust to the first several times with knocks at the door, they would adjust to being with the other adult that is caring for them. Therefore I would take my bathroom time once a day/night, this will help them adjust quicker. Bring a journal, oils, tea, sea salt, lavender eye pillow and whatever else one needs to relax.
If a family member falls ill, life as one knows it changes, everyone adjusts. Why does it have to be a sad or desperate occurrence when loved ones have to deal? Here I am to say: It doesn’t. Incorporate taking care of yourself now and I promise your family will adjust. Didn’t everyone adjust when a sole provider lost their job? When a child was diagnosed? When someone got divorced?
As a society many people wait until something “happens” in order to change lifestyle. Why not create that change, and at the same time show the children in your life what it looks like to be interdependent.
Magical things happen while clearing some space in my head, and giving myself time away from technology. In that newly cleared space, new dreams happen, new feelings begin to cultivate. Best of all I feel in control of my whole self, eager to drift away to a sound sleep…
Your Beautiful Child 