Self care is like the new it thing. Might as well be hot yoga. Or spinning. It's trendy. Like a top knot or skinny jeans or kale. We are all so obsessed with making sure we are getting our self care in that it is just one more thing we moms are adding to our never ending to do lists. Well I don't know about you, but that seems like completely not the point. Here's the crux of the problem we are failing to define what things are actually self care and what things are simply treating ourselves.

I mess this up a lot. Like a lot a lot. In my zoomed in world where I get caught up in my own selfishness and fail to see my own privilege in the trials of daily motherhood (check out Gratitude Attitude), I think hey, I could really go for some self care about now. So let's start what self care is not.

Self care is not:

Buying yourself clothes you cannot afford because sliding plastic gives you a high.

Treating emotions with food or beverages as bandaids.

Blowing off things that matter to do something fun.

Flirting with a person outside your relationship.

The margarita that tips you over the edge.

Being unkind or selfish while labeling it self care as justification.

Staying up too late and rising too early on a regular basis.

Spending to keep up with other people's ideas of self care.

Costly beauty regimens that should be your mortgage.

Indulging regularly.

Anything you have to lie to yourself or your spouse about.

These are just a few examples and of course they will look different for each person. For some of us a new wardrobe could be a drop in the financial bucket, while for others it could spell disastrous levels of stress come bill time.

Self care is:

Escaping into a good book.

Crossing things off your to do list.

Going to the doctor.

Making financially responsible decisions.

Going to the gym on a regular, but not excessive basis.

Laughing with a friend.

Sleeping adequate amounts for health.

Eating nourishing foods in appropriate portions without over indulging or depriving yourself.

Learning to manage stress. (Check out Tips for Managing Mom Stress)

Learning to ask for help.

Establishing healthy boundaries with relationships, with technology, with food, with substance, with ourselves.

Laughing.

Journaling.

Praying. And then praying again. Because we cannot care for ourselves alone.

Self care is any action that does not just feel good in the here and now, but will also feel good tomorrow and the day after that.

I don't think there is anything wrong with treating ourselves. I love a good square of dark chocolate and glass of red wine. I do not deserve those things as a human with value. In our current social media crazed society, it's not a rarity to see a utopian beachscape with the hashtag #selfcare. This kind of amazing trip is not, dear readers, self care. It's a treat. A fun one. A great one, but I am of the belief that self care should never spark envy. (Except for maybe sleep from the mama's with littles going through a regression because we know sleep = life. )

How do you provide yourself with care?