Self Care for the Pagan Parent

We are all so busy these days.

Or at least, that’s what the media tells us. And our kids’ – their friends are in gymnastics and soccer and taking piano lessons and in scouts and and and and…..with homework and school for the kids, and work for parents (whether that’s in the home or out of the home, for money or not), it’s a wonder that anyone has time to sleep!

I’m finding (and I suspect a lot of other Pagan parents feel the same) that it’s different, this parenting while Pagan thing.  Not that it’s not different for other faiths….but that some of the ways that the Pagan community functions are just not family friendly.

Finding a sitter for a ritual every full moon is challenging (assuming you have a group to do ritual with).  It’s not like going to church with kids, where they’re either included without question, or there’s an alternate program for them to attend. My understanding is that Jewish and Muslim services are much the same. It can be isolating.

The hour of meditation you used to do on a regular basis? If your children are small, it’s not likely to happen while they’re awake. And good luck finding an hour after the kids are in bed but before you fall asleep…unless this is your time set aside for doing dishes, in which case….maybe you can find some peace in the rhythmic slosh of the water?

I don’t know about you, but a lot of days I have a hard time finding uninterrupted shower time – and when I try to turn that into meditation time, I’m usually interrupted by either a loud thud followed by screaming or small eyeballs peeking around the end of the shower curtain, asking if they can join in, because water is awesome.

All that said…now that my kids are less likely to stop breathing at a moment’s notice, I’m realizing just how bad I’ve become about self care in general, including energetically. And most things that talk about how parents (usually moms) should take time for themselves usually talk about things that are completely out of the question – no, I can’t just take an afternoon and go to a spa (and frankly, the last time I did, I found it boring, rather than relaxing). No, we don’t have anyone we can really leave the kids with overnight. No, our bathtub is really not comfortable when used as a tub, unless you’re a 6 year old, so thinking I’m going to take a long bubble bath is right out.

So….what does that leave?

I’ve been working on that. I’ve got a pretty good list going. Taking Reiki Master/Teacher training, which included a requirement to document 30 days of self-Reiki was a pretty useful starting point for the list. And I’m going to share it all with you, starting on Mother’s Day – 3 weeks of self-care, in less than 15 minutes a day!

Stop by the event page on Facebook   to find out when and where!

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio