Anita Ojeda 
Does self-care matter? Determine whether you need to take better care of yourself before you experience severe repercussions.
A Wake-Up Call
“Mom?” my daughter’s voice startled me from my hazy slumber. My eyes jerked open, and her face filled my vision.
“What’s wrong?” My adrenalin kicked in and my mind flipped through the possible catastrophes that would bring her to my side of the bed in the middle of the night. Night terrors. Terrorists. A clogged toilet overflowing all over the house. Floodwaters overflowing the porch. Wait, it hadn’t rained in weeks. Winter. Frozen pipes. Burst pipes. Robbers bursting through the doors.
Her words halted my stream of thoughts. “I’m hungry. You’re supposed to cook breakfast on Sunday mornings.”
“What time is it?” my heart rate slowed. Wait. Did she say ‘morning?’
“Ten o’clock.”
“At night?”
“No, silly, it’s morning.”
“I’ll be up in a minute,” I said with a groan. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Scones!”
I watched her skip from the room and noticed the light pushing its yellow fingers through the slats in the blinds. Ugh. Morning had come, and I hadn’t even noticed.
If You Have to Determine Whether You Want to Get Out of Bed, Maybe You Have a Problem
I realized I had a problem. In retrospect (this took place 20 years ago), my body had buckled under the enormous stress of caring for a husband with cancer, holding down a full-time job, traveling thousands of miles at a moment’s notice, and parenting two young girls.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone around to help me envision solutions to my problems of wanting to stay in bed each morning, feeling listless and detached, and forgetting simple things (such as first names of friends). Twenty years ago, most people didn’t understand the need for balanced self-care. It took me another ten years after this incident to realize the role self-care played in my life.
When I take time each day to care for myself mentally, academically, physically, and spiritually, I have the inner resources to handle the ordinary stress of life. It doesn’t have to happen in one block of time, either. You can fit self-care into your daily routines five minutes at a time.
If you find yourself feeling worn-out, wasted, dried-up from the inside out, and unable to cope, perhaps you need to determine whether you take good enough care of yourself. Not sure how to determine whether you’re doing a good job or not? Take the free quiz at the bottom of the page!
How well do you take care of yourself?
This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!
And this is a key for actually walking in self-care, Anita, “It doesn’t have to happen in one block of time, either. You can fit self-care into your daily routines five minutes at a time.”
I really let myself go last year. Correcting that for 2022
I’m pushing to the limit,
and if you ask me why,
it is that I am in for it,
before long I will die
The cancer’s now metastasized
into the long bones,
but I do not feel despised
by God, nor feel alone,
for there is still much to do,
much that I can give,
and I will confide in you
that I yet want to live
every full day upon this Earth
before my Heavenly rebirth.
I’ve been particularly concentrating on improving my sleep the past couple months. And it’s paying off. A good night’s sleep is not only good during the night but all day long. I’m still not where I want to be (and I may never fully arrive), but I’m making progress anyway!
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