taking a breath

I haven't been doing much these past few days except for taking care of myself and my kids. It seems as though either one or all of us has been under the weather and it has reminded me of how important it is to just stop and take a breath. Last week my neck forced me to do that for the day when I turned the wrong way to get a shirt out of my son's drawer and all of a sudden I couldn't move. Then a few days later my son got sick and then I got the flu. Between the two of us our house became a tornado of undone dishes, ginger ale and colouring books.

This week is looking much better, but I am still taking it slow. It is so easy for me to work day and night, both with the kids, the house and my work, never taking time to stop and breathe, drink some water (it's remarkable how little I drink some days), finish a book or just lay down on the couch and ignore the dishes (that one is really hard for me to do). So, I finished The Birth House, which was amazing, I've taken some naps (albeit short ones) and I have a glass of water in front of me now. As much as getting sick is a huge wrench in my plans most of the time, sometimes being forced to slow down is a really good thing. Wouldn't it be great if we could take good care of ourselves all the time, not just when we are sick?

I love this picture because the day we went to the estuary (where this picture was taken), we left all of our chores behind to be together in the sun. It was self care for the whole family.