Hey Mommy: Take Care of Youself!
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October is breast cancer awareness month, and a good time to thinking about how I used to do a self breast exam every month, without fail, ten days after my period. That was my ritual, and it was easy to remember since my period was like clockwork.
Then came pregnancy. My period stopped and I didn’t have my monthly reminder to do my self exam. I did my exams sporadically at best. After my first baby was born I had exactly one period before my next pregnancy rolled around, so I could no longer rely on my period to remind me to do my exam.
Besides, it made me giggle when I would do my exam and milk would squirt out…but that’s another story entirely.
Fast forward to a few years later. I still haven’t gotten back into the habit of examining my breasts like I should every month. I get so wrapped up in making sure that my kids are healthy and well taken care of that sometimes I just forget to pay attention to my own body. I’m sure it’s a common scenario, but that doesn’t make it okay.
Today I remembered to do a self exam (thank you, Breast Cancer Awareness Month) but I need to mark something on my calendar to make sure that I remember to do it every month. From what I understand, early detection is key. I need to stay on top of this to make sure I can catch any potential problems early on. After all, I guess I really can’t be there for my kids later in life if I don’t take care of myself right now.
It really does get difficult to remember that I’m responsible for myself as well as my kids. I guess I just always assume that my body will keep trucking along as usual and that I won’t ever get too sick to care for my family. Maybe this is why I get such a huge cold every winter…because I’m so busy taking care of everyone else and don’t look after myself as well as I should.
Being a mom might make me mighty, but it doesn’t make me invincible. I need to start taking better care of myself so I can be the best mommy I can be.
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