Mumsday Sunday - "one-day, some-day..."

Are you a good health role model for your kids?
 
The busy mum who runs around like a lunatic organising laundry, breakfast, lunchboxes, homework and getting the troops out of the door, fuelled only by coffee and the idea of a piece of toast is a cliche because it’s often true. It’s not that we don’t want to sit down and enjoy a leisurely nutritious breakfast whilst catching up on world news, and pulling a couple of yoga poses. It’s because the daily grind is filled with a small mountain of domestic chores, that will topple over and crush us before we’ve pulled out our chair. It’s because after a night without much in the way of sleep, and with a day that’s started too early, and with too many questions, then we need the hot dark stuff as surely as we need the air to breath.
 
Or so we tell ourselves. Over the course of the day it’s possible to make a series of seemingly small decisions, that result in our own personal health and wellbeing somehow being swept under the carpet. We all pay the price differently. It could be ill health, niggly bugs, low energy, anxiety, low mood, weight gain, weight loss, and above all just a general feeling that we’re a the bottom of the proverbial pile.
 
Most if us probably have some kind of idea of a different ideal reality. A one-day, some-day plan, that will give us the body of supermodel and the health of an Olympic athlete. We’re just waiting until we get a touch more sleep before we can roll the plan into action.
 
It’s time to dust off the one-day some-day plan. Moderate it, because the chances are it’s wildly optimistic, and begin to start giving as much consideration to our own health and wellbeing as we do to our kids health and wellbeing. Partly because we’re worth it (another cliche I know). Partly because if mum falls over, then the wheels will fall off everything else. Last, but not least, because we want to be good role models for our kids. To show them that mums are not drudges who never have time to do our hair, or make ourselves a decent breakfast, or pop out for a walk, because we’re just too darn busy mopping up everyone else’s mess. Because that’s hardly inspirational is it?
 
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing about some ideas that have helped me to prioritise my own health and wellbeing over the last few years (including some recipes) and in the process cope better with the chronic sleep deprivation and general chaos that comes with having four young kids.

Amy Black, Munch contributor - On the monkey trail