Self Care Sunday and Overstimulation
Most weekends at this house run the same: lots of sleep, lots of play, lots of rest, and a little bit of cleaning. This Sunday, I picked up a receptionist shift and I was DREADING working on my Sunday all week. “It’s my day of REST, why did I choose to WORK?” 😭 What was I going to do without my self care Sunday? This past week I had been overwhelmed by overstimulation multiple times and I was worried I was not going to get the rest I needed. And after these last few weeks? Rest was NEEEEEEDED. So how did I make self care Sunday work even with a looming shift?
Boundaries. It is not fair to my loved ones for them to feel the brunt of all of my emotions. The hardest part of this is that you might have to upset someone else in order to protect yourself. “Put your own mask on first” type of stuff.
“Can you give me a call after you get home?” No. I will be resting.
“Is the laundry done yet?” Nope. Resting.
“Where are are my socks?” Find some. I’m resting.
After some rest, I am recharged and get twice as much done. It feels so counterproductive, to rest then work. I always thought that rest was earned- it’s not. Rest is NECESSARY. The to do list can wait, it will still be there. It might have some additional items, but when you feel rested, it might not be as daunting.
One week later, I am finally finishing this post. 😂 As I was working through my never-ending to do list, I listened to a new Podcast from my friend, Katherine. It is called the Fearless Female Farmer and the alliteration instantly intrigued me. As an alliteration fangirl myself, Barefoot and Burntout, I had to check it out. Her voice reminded me to take a breath: “life will get worse… but you will get stronger, and you will handle it”. Thank you, Katherine. I needed that today. I was feeling like a failure last week. Tomorrow’s Self Care Sunday will NOT be restful either. Tomorrow’s tasks include laundry, meetings, reports, emails, and phone calls. Getting everything in order before Spring Break!
Life is intense right now, but it is so worth it. My desk is covered in colored sticky notes. As I slug through my weekend work on less sleep than ideal, it is helpful to remember this is only a part of my life. Things keep piling up, and we keep tackling them as a family.
Sticky notes, podcasts, and rest are some of many tools to combat overstimulation. Another recent addition to my toolbox includes Loop earplugs. I usually HATE having things in my ears. They get irritated and it makes me more annoyed than it helps. Enter Loops: they have a teacher discount! When the verification system struggled, their customer service was prompt and polite and gave me a discount code to use. 10/10 recommend Loops.
My heart melts spending time as a family. I am able to be much more present and enjoyable when I have my ear plugs in at night.
Now excuse me while I go put my ear plugs in, sip my Starbucks, and tackle that to do list. All on my Self Care Sunday.