Self Care for Life Transitions for Homeschool Moms

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This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Self Care for Life Transitions for Homeschool Moms.

Self Care for Life Transitions for Homeschool Moms

Life’s transitions can be challenging, especially when juggling homeschooling responsibilities. But self-care is a vital component of sustaining your ability to care for others – and not a selfish act. Proper self-care can help manage stress and ensure that you are emotionally and physically prepared for whatever life throws your way. Let’s talk about how we do our self-care for life transitions while we’re being healthy moms of adult young people and caregiving for older people.

What are Life Transitions?

Life transitions are periods of change and adjustment that we experience throughout our lives. These can include both expected and unexpected events, such as starting a new job, getting married, moving to a new city, or going through a loss or illness.

These transitions can bring about a range of emotions and challenges, from excitement and anticipation to uncertainty and stress.

During these times of transition, it is important to prioritize self-care in order to maintain mental and emotional well-being. This means taking the time to focus on your needs and engaging in activities that bring you joy and peace.

It also involves being mindful of your thoughts and feelings during this time, acknowledging them without judgment.

We used to do a lot of this. We’ve had different transitions in life.

We transitioned our kids through high school and then graduation, and that’s a big transition. And as they’re doing their adult things, all of a sudden, we have adult kids and aging parents at the same time.

When your kids graduate high school, especially the oldest, that could be a tough life transition.

Another one, like us, is when we had twins. We didn’t know we were having twins until the second one showed up!

Practicing Self-Care Strategies

There are lots of ways to practice self-care during life transitions.

To soothe your mind and help choose calm over anxiety, engaging in a deep conversation with another person can be incredibly effective. Surrounding yourself with individuals who positively impact you can be nourishing for the spirit.

J.O.Y.

We homeschool moms often are trained that self-care is selfish! In fact, we were taught the acronym J.O.Y (Jesus, Others, Yourself)- with the implication that we are selfish if we manage to include the Y in the acronym. We have often been conditioned to believe that Jesus and Others matter- but not you.

However, we have to keep body, soul and spirit healthy. If we do not, will can burn out or get sick. Engaging in activities that nourish your spirit, such as playing an instrument or gathering with supportive friends, can significantly impact your well-being.

As Kym says,

Joy: If you don’t include the Y, all you have have is JO!

Recognizing God’s presence in everyday moments and finding joy in simple pleasures like nature can be profoundly restorative.

Let us note two things so that everything needs to stay in balance:

We don’t want to get so caught up in self-care that we invent the word: YJO!

Also, be careful of escaping uselessly (as in hours of scrolling). Instead, do something good for body, soul or spirit if you are working on self-care.

Community and Support Systems

Lean into your support systems. We should be looking out for one another and sharing what we learn along the way. Having some prayer partners, or bffs that you can have coffee breaks with (or simply texting during tough times).

(Trivia for health class: when you have a nice conversation with friends, it literally down-regulates your vegus nerve- which helps you feel calmer and improves your immune system.)

Noticing practices

In transition times, it is helpful to take moments here and there to notice something outside that God has created. (Vicki notes a helpful noticing practice is the Ignatian Examen mindfulness prayer practice.) Kym points out that in stressful times, taking walks in nature are one of her most important self-care tools.

7Sisters Homeschool Facebook Group

One place to ask for help is in the 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group. There’s such a nice bunch of sisters there. People will reach out and not just answer each other’s questions but also share information to help each other. (Remember, there are six of us 7Sisters. So who’s the 7th Sister? YOU are!)

Sharing is beautiful.

Planning For Self-Care

One thing I think some people don’t think about in terms of self care is how to plan for it wisely. Scheduling self-care activities is crucial.

You are placing a priority on something when you give it a spot in your planner. And we often put things on there that need to be paid or meetings that we need to attend, even things like medical appointments and deadlines. But we don’t put on the calendar the time to rest, to enjoy nature, to pray, to create, to grow.

And by putting it on your calendar, you are telling yourself this has priority and this is an important thing.

Of course, you cannot always plan for every transition. Sometimes life happens. In those times, treat yourself and the family with grace, ask for help, and keep breathing!

Teens need to learn self-care, too

Check out this post to get lots of tips for helping teens handle tough times.