Taking Care of Mom. Yes, You!
It seemed appropriate to share this blog entry by Maureen McDonnell at Saving our Kids Healing Our Planet on taking care of ourselves, the Moms. KS
What About Mom?
In addition to taking care of everyone else, busy moms need to take care of themselves too!
I grew up in an Irish-Catholic family where little self -indulgences like getting a massage, taking a hot bath with candles or even going on a solitary walk to calm the mind were unheard of. Subsequently, it was instilled in me from a young age that serving others without focusing on my own needs was part and parcel to my role as a woman..
I went on to become a nurse, and then a mother remaining relatively oblivious to that all important inner voice that whispers (or sometimes shouts) for us to slow down , relax and pay attention to our body’s needs.
All that changed after my first marriage ended and I became a single mother of two. A very sensitive counselor and a few years of therapy helped me develop an understanding that carving out time to take care of me was not selfish. I realized (in my mid-thirties) that if I was going to stay sane, be physically healthy and be the kind of mom and person I wanted to be, self-care wasn’t an option, it was an imperative!
I was prompted to write this article because lately I’ve been receiving disturbing news of a number of young moms who have developed illnesses including cancer. I know how busy life can get and how easy it is to put your needs including your health on the back burner. I also know that illness is not always preventable and that in this fast paced society there are few support systems set up just for mom. Yet, by taking a few minutes here and there, (in the midst of juggling the million-and-one tasks of caring for your family), you can make a little time for you and that can make a huge difference in your overall health and happiness!
Read the full post at Saving our Kids Healing Our Planet.
Author: Maureen H. McDonnell, RN
I am a registered nurse with a strong interest in helping to reverse the escalating number of children affected by chronic illnesses. After coordinating the Defeat Autism Now! Conferences for 10 years, I joined forces with Jill Urwick to form Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet. This website and our conferences focus on the role nutrition and toxins in the environment are playing in Autism, ADHD, childhood cancers, etc. More importantly, our goal is to offer solution-based information that is both practical, affordable.
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Posted by: jocelynn | November 28, 2020 at 08:06 PM
I have been lucky up until now to get some respite funding and to get a little bit out of the account to get some help, but now our insurance has changed and we won't have any extra. Family is unavailable as they are far away or taking care of the family matriarch with dementia.
Posted by: online news US | August 01, 2010 at 03:45 PM
Maureen, thank you so much for writing about caretaking -- so important. One of the stressful things about life today is that to some extent we are moving away from the traditional roles of men and women, and yet we don't really have new roles to adopt instead, and we don't have any other way for caretaking to be handled if not by mom (although some dads do pitch in a lot or are even the primary caretaker). It sure is important to carve out a bit of time for yourself, and sometimes that really goes against the grain because we feel we need to take care of everyone else's needs first, but everyone else's needs are bottomless! At any rate, congratulations on all that you have accomplished. I went to some of the DAN! conferences that you organized, and they ran flawlessly!
Posted by: Twyla | August 01, 2010 at 02:10 AM
I'm praying for the next life. Young women please heed the warning. well over the hill.
Posted by: n | July 25, 2010 at 03:37 PM
But what I want to know is, how do you accomplish this? I have been lucky up until now to get some respite funding and to get a little bit out of the account to get some help, but now our insurance has changed and we won't have any extra. Family is unavailable as they are far away or taking care of the family matriarch with dementia. And after five years, almost six of taking care of my family, the little respite I've had has done almost no good other than keeping me running, but certainly not "living." How do you get the help you need when there is not enough money or family to do so, and all you can get is a few minutes online if your high needs baby and special needs child are constantly on you? It's a great concept, but not always practical, and it sucks!
Posted by: Julie Leonardo | July 25, 2010 at 09:20 AM
Wonderful post, Ms McDonnell. The moms you write about are heroes who perform daily heroics. Many are "wounded warriors" in this campaign for survival. Their voices must be heard! I'm sure that there are also many dads out there who are equally courageous, who also suffer on a daily basis. Don't mess with the moms, though. They will fight to the death to protect their kids! Your article is a beautifully-written salute to them.
BTW - have you read Harris Coulter's book, "Vaccination Social Violence and Criminality" (1990)? I just received a copy. I should have read it long ago. He saw the truth more than 20 years ago.
http://www.whale.to/m/coulter9.html
Posted by: patrons99 | July 24, 2010 at 11:08 AM