Self-Care Sunday

I love the idea of a good self-care Sunday, but this isn’t something I have ever been able to do! Historically, the weekends were when Michael and I were “on” full-time with the kids without any breaks, and four young ones with only two adults and no school was hard work. Of course, COVID changed all of this, and now we look forward to the weekends because we aren’t managing any online activities and Michael isn’t juggling a full-time job plus helping with childcare. I even had to take a step back from my day job as we figured out how to navigate this new life without our nannies, camps, or in-person schooling. We are certainly counting down the days until the schools reopen and praying that NYC continues to keep the COVID rates at bay!

I recently read an article about how the age of social distancing has put such a burden on mothers that simple acts of self-care are not enough to pull us out of this burn-out. I completely agree (I definitely have never felt more tired in my life, and this is coming from someone who had newborn preemie twins with a 21-month-old and a recently turned 3-year-old at home too), but I will also include that our situation disproportionately affects Michael as well because I can’t watch the kids on my own all day. Simply speaking, there are too many young children running every which way. Luckily for us, Layla (who is almost 6 years old) can be self-sufficient, and is able to fix herself her own lunch! But we spend most of our days as short order cooks navigating a constant sea of toys, clothes, and dishes strewn about.

I say all this because I did a little self-care this week: I painted my nails for the first time since March! And I gotta tell you, seeing that pop of color on my nails has been a much needed mini mood booster, even more so as it was a bright spot for me on a rainy day. Let me know if and how you have managed to add any self-care into your routine these days by commenting below.

Which, by the way, why does it feel like fall already? Can you see all of the leaves on the ground?