I buy good multivitamins. I also have them in a handy place in the dining room. I also forget to take them regularly. When I do take them, it’s most likely that I will only take one of the two pills that are recommended on the bottle. This is not good.

And I wonder, how many mothers around the world also forget to take their vitamins on a regular basis? Like, am I alone in this failing, or do I have friends I haven’t met yet who also low-key neglect themselves? Because putting off taking my vitamins is not the only way that I am not taking care of myself as well as I should.

There are so many little things that I would like to add to my life that would each feel almost insignificant, but that together would add up to me actually feeling taken care of.

Want some examples?

I used to actually get useful stuff done in the time I am awake before the kids. Now I just surf the internet for an hour. That is not adding anything positive into my daily life. If I couldn’t kick the phone habit I could at least be doing something useful like using my DuoLingo app, or watching a Mel Robbins video on YouTube.

And I miss my morning stretches. For a while there I would do a bit of stretching in the kitchen while waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning. The house was quiet. No one was going to try to get around me to the toaster. It was just me and a bit of sunshine coming in the window. So peaceful. Why did I stop? I probably caught a cold or something and it threw off my groove. (“I’m sorry. You’ve thrown off the Emperor’s groove.”) And, rather than getting back in the groove I now put up with tight muscles…? Tell me how that makes sense.

So, I have compiled a list of twelve things that I would like to ease into my life that will make me feel more like myself again. You are welcome to join me. I will have a blog post and video up on Sundays about the new piece of self-care so we can get it into our days for a week, starting on Mondays, before adding another little item in the next week.

This will not be a challenge, or a guilt thing. This is a gentle, peaceful, forgiving series to get us back to taking care of ourselves again. Like one of my first posts on this website is titled, If Mama Isn’t at 100% She Can’t Give 100%.

So let’s find our own versions of 100%. We can take a few weeks to create some things in our lives that will make us feel more like the humans we would like to be. I can’t promise that you’ll feel the best you have ever felt at the end of this series. I just hope that we all make progress on making ourselves more energetic, limber, rested, and peaceful. No promises. Just hope and camaraderie.

This first week, we will concentrate on taking our multivitamins with a glass of water every day. Not just enough water to get them down (unless that is honestly the best way for your body). Drink the whole eight to sixteen ounces of water. That way, not only are you giving yourself a boost on nutrition, you are making sure you are actually hydrated. Then give yourself a pat on the back.

One thing I would like you to keep in mind is that perfection is not the goal here. Progress over perfection. An honest try is miles better than not even starting because you think it won’t go perfectly.

Let’s see how we do this week.

Good luck and have fun.

By the way…

If you would like these blog posts to show up in your email go ahead and scroll down to the bottom of this page and subscribe to the blog. And if you would like to follow along on YouTube my channel has the same name: Motherhood Off Script.