Simply Taking Care of Mama

There are days when you wake to the sun shining and the birds singing.  You wake up to a glorious morning that should bring you all the joy and happiness the world has to offer.  For some reason though, none of this seems to matter.

What is that you say?  Could it be?  Mama has a "soul fever". 

Yes, even Super Mom has her moments. 

It is during these moments that Super Mom must take a look at her family, her happenings, and her schedule.  It is during these moments that Super Mom must decide what is needed to ease this aching emotional fever.

Before I give some advice on how I deal with my own "soul fever", I would like to give a recent example of what has lead me on this downward spiral... what has lead me to overload my emotions and make me feel so out of sorts.

It is the official end of summer here in Texas for teachers in our area.  Bright and early Monday morning we will huddle in groups in a school cafeteria awaiting the wisdom of our school administration and learning about what lies ahead this school year.

Before we are required to return to work, however, many of us choose to venture up to school and begin preparation.  We paint our classroom wall a beautiful purple.  We print and prepare folders for our new students.  We write lesson plans for the first week.  We bag play-doh and collect ideas to entertain those sweet little bodies that will be arriving oh so soon. 

All this preparation takes time, diligence, and perseverance.  All this preparation must be done ahead of schedule to save our sanity for when we MUST return.

What we do not realize is that we are on overload.  We have overloaded are minds, taking away "our" time, and not given what is necessary to our families.

The family begins to be at odds.  The house is a cluttered disarray and we all have the shortest fuse known to man. 

We need sleep.

We need quiet.

We need a vacation.

Top all of this off with a little one beginning pre-school for the first time.  He is not adjusting well.  You feel guilty for sending him to spend his day with strangers, but know it is what he needs.  You continue to cry and fret over your decision and hope that everything goes as planned.

What more could one need to lead up to a "soul fever"?

For me, this has been more than enough.

Ways For Super Mom to Heal a Soul Fever:

Take some much needed ME time.  Allow yourself  one hour of uninterrupted quiet a day...  read, bathe, sit outside in the sun.  Do whatever you like.  This time is your.

Be kind to yourself.  All the little things count.  Do something out of the ordinary or just for fun.  Might I suggest... a pedicure, trip to the movies, dinner with friends, short meditation in the morning and before sleep, yoga, pilates, a nice brisk walk.  Exercise is actually one of the best stress relievers.


Think about your family.  What does each member need?  How can you provide for those needs while still meeting your own?  Is there anything that can be provided by someone other than yourself?  It is okay to let the hubby read the bed time story this week.  Both your children and your husband might actually enjoy it.

Look at your schedule and list of To Dos.  Can anything be combined?  eliminated? Can you have someone else take care of it?  Even Super Mom needs to ask for help sometimes.

Ideas to Help a Friend Get Through a Soul Fever:

Give your friend a Healing Basket packed to the brim with goodies.

Make a Stress Relief Gift Bag.  You might want to include an herbal eye pillow, lavender or chamomile body mist, a cd of meditative music, bath fizzies, a simple lotion bar, and some lemon lavender homemade sugar scrub.

* to purchase an eye pillow

Print a set of mandalas from the web.  Roll them up and tie with a piece of twine or raffia.  Provide a set of map pencils as well.  Coloring mandalas has proven to relieve stress through the repetitive motion and trance-like state it puts you in.

Offer a free evening of babysitting.  A quiet evening at home or a date with the hubby is sometimes all that is needed to help get back on the right track emotionally.

Having a "soul fever" can be very consuming.  Taking a bit of time to heal is important. Remember you cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself.