Love Notes

One of my favorite things to do is leave notes around for my husband. If he has something going on at work, I might slip an encouraging note into his lunch box. When he’s getting ready to travel, I might slip some notes into his pants pockets or suit jacket. It feels good to leave them, and it makes my husband feel good to read them.

But love notes for myself — well, that’s a whole different story. It’s not something I even think about doing. How do you feel about the idea of writing yourself a love note? Do you think it might be nice but you’re not sure what you want to say? Does it make your flesh crawl? As women, and especially as moms, we give so much love every day to those around us, but we don’t save a lot of love for ourselves.

What if we chose to treat ourselves like we are someone we love? What if we wrote ourselves little notes and put them in our lunch boxes or pants pockets? What if we looked at ourselves the same way we looked at our children--with loving eyes, not critical ones?

The question then becomes how do we love ourselves? Well, how do you treat someone you love? For starters, you tell them you love them. You remind them of their strengths, and you encourage them when they’re struggling. You see the best in them. You take care of their bodies, keeping them clean and rested and healthy.

So start treating yourself like someone you love. Look in the mirror and greet yourself with a smile and loving words instead of critiques. When you make a mistake, show yourself grace and compassion instead of saying “you never do anything right.” Leave yourself love notes. Treat your body like you love it too. It works hard for you. Give it great fuel that gives you energy and makes you feel good. Keep it moving -- help it be as strong and fit as it can be. Give it enough sleep.

This is hard. This feels unnatural, and in our culture, it is unnatural. But try loving yourself a little bit every day and see how great you feel over time. I love you, mama! You are a strong, fierce, amazing badass and YOU GOT THIS!