Returning to Self

Quote from Good Morning Messages from Brook Noel:

“After being bombarded with images and ideas of what a woman should be, a strong woman is one who can look at herself in the mirror and say, “I prefer this.’” Doctoral student Erin Clair, as quoted in What Makes a Strong Woman?101 Insights from Some Remarkable Women by Helene Lerner
Tammy, one of my readers, sent in this quote with a very powerful note. Tammy wrote:
I have been working on your programs and reading your Good Morning messages. Word cannot express my gratitude for the positive changes they are making in my life. I feel as if I am on the quest to remembering who I wanted to be when I grew up and who I want to be daily. At 36 I would have thought I would have a clue but, as with many women in our culture, life as mother and wife took over and consumed all that I had hoped to be. Thanks for the prompts that are assisting me along this journey. I truly appreciate it.
This was a powerful quote for me as I struggle daily to love the person I am right now instead of waiting to love myself when I morph into the incredible woman that lurks beneath the layers of life. As the mother of daughters it was also a powerful insight to a gift I hope to give them - that deep sense of self worth and self acceptance.
Tammy’s kind note summarizes a challenge many women can relate with. While devoting time to mothering children and the daily demands of life, women may lose sight of mothering their own dreams, desires and self-growth.
Through my work, I strive to help women meet the many commitments of life today without neglecting “self.” Learning to balance caring for others while still caring for our-selves will, in time, lead us to the place where like the quote, we can say: “I prefer this.”
Your Turn:Take a moment to look in the mirror and affirm where you are today and the positive steps you have taken in your life. This weekend carve out a half-hour to focus on “you” and self-care.
Your Affirmation:I am proud of who I am and who I am becoming.

I am in the process of this... Trying to come back to self. I find that over the past month I have travelled far from where I thought I'd be right now. Everything feels like it has taken the back burner--my devotional time in the mornings, my lunch hour workouts and my just overall "me" routine. Those little things that kept me sane and my family happy.

I guess with the summer months, I've been spending the time with the family and focusing less on those little things. I stay up late chatting or enjoying family and morning time comes & that morning quiet hour I feel can wait until tomorrow. So I sleep in late and feel guilty later on, but the trend continues. My lunch hour workout takes a back burner to laziness (I'm being honest here) or a quick walk outside to take in the sunshine.

SO, over the next month or so I plan on returning back to me. To those little things that created in me joy & peace. I do love the summer months, with the longer days and time spent with family, but I also feel like I loose such a piece of myself in the mist of things. It deprives me and my family of the woman that I can be. And they deserve to have all of me and the best of me.