Routines

Since I suffer from anxiety, bi-polar, acute depression & psychosis, and I am a single mom, I have learned that what helps me is a routine. Children thrive off of routine, and it makes adult life a lot easier to manage. Another thing that I have learned while dealing with my daily struggles is that taking things one day at a time and taking time to breathe can make your life a lot simpler. A simple life is a happy life. A happy life encourages a long life. Because I am not perfect, my routine is not the same every day, but I do have a basic go-to routine if I see my day is starting to get away from me.

MORNING ROUTINE

Starting my morning off with a prayer is a must. Before stepping foot out of my bed, I make sure I thank God for waking me up. I head to the bathroom where I proceed to brush my teeth and wash my face with whatever face wash/mask I am into at the moment. If I have a day where I am feeling a bit off, a washcloth with hot water gets the job done, and I move on to the next thing on the list. I go and fix myself some tea/water and breakfast while watching a video or listening to a podcast. I like to workout before I wake my daughter up for her routine, but if I do not have time, I would get her up and follow the same steps I did for myself in baby form. Once we are both up and active, I get her ready for quiet time as I get available for work.

AFTERNOON ROUTINE

After having a productive morning at work, I get my daughter ready for her afternoon nap. Once she is down for some rest, I get our lunch together. Sometimes I will eat while she is sleep so that I can get some work done while she is enjoying her lunch other times we eat together. For lunch, we mostly eat a cold lunch. For example, I will make my daughter: two different kinds of fruit, yogurt, and some toast with hummus. Personally, I'm not too fond of hummus, but my daughter loves it so she would eat that, and I would make a salad. After lunch and maybe more work, we have mommy-daughter time. Whether we go outside and I let her finger paint or we gout out in the back to play with water, this time, we can interact one-on-one. After our one-on-one, she goes and plays with her toys.

NIGHT TIME RITUAL

While my little butterfly(my daughter) is playing, thinking of what to make or preparing our dinner is what is next on the list. Since I can never focus on more than one thing for long, I usually being to do something else as I am whipping it up in the kitchen. For example, I may catch up on social media or get a few emails out. I am not a chef, so our dinner is usually just as simple as our breakfast and lunch. My daughter's go-to meal is pasta with cheese, a vegetable, and either a side of fruit or some yogurt. I would make me something frozen or put some crab legs on the stove for a mini seafood boil. After dinner, its bath time! I will read, sing, or play with bath toys with her before I wash her, and we make our way to the next phase of our nighttime ritual. Once out of the tub, I will use shea butter or oil like coconut oil to moisturize her skin, moisturize her hair, put on her pajamas, and read her a book. When she is sleeping. I will begin to clean up before getting in the shower. After a shower, I will do my skin routine, get on social media, pray then it is off to bed for me.

Again, my routine is never the same every day, but these are the basics. Also, my daughter is getting older, so some things are no longer like a baby massage after a bath, and some things are added in like potty training. Whenever my life is hectic, I make sure to refer back to my basic routine to level myself out. I hope you enjoyed this read. Be sure to show some love below. And remember to take things one day at a time.