I want to take a second of your time and ask you to really hear what I have to share right now. When you’re done reading it, please pass it along.

Being a parent isn’t easy. Being an Autism parent is fought with even more challenges. It’s so incredibly easy to become so focused on our kids, that we forget to take care of ourselves. This is especially true for Autism and Special Needs Parents.

We get so caught up in trying to meet the needs of our kids, we can get tunnel vision. In other words, we put every ounce of everything we have into our kids, because our kids come first, even at our own expense. That’s a very noble but misguided approach and here’s why.

If we give everything we have to our kids, we can physically and emotionally bankrupt ourselves, without even realizing it.

It’s incredibly important to take the time to care for ourselves. It doesn’t feel right doing so, I totally get that and frankly, I still struggle with this myself but it’s crucial.

Here’s the thing.

Giving every ounce of everything we have to our kids isn’t sustainable. Sure, we might be able to maintain that for awhile but not forever. Unfortunately, we’re all still human and at some point we will give of ourselves until we have nothing left to give. What will our kids do then?

Autism and Special Needs Parenting isn’t always a race, it’s a marathon. For many of us, the phenomenon known as empty nest syndrome is something we might never experience. For many of us, Autism and Special Needs Parenting is a 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, 366 days a year, for the rest of our natural lives kinda job. We need to pace ourselves. ☺

By taking better care of ourselves, we can provide our kids with better versions of ourselves.

As unnatural as it sounds to any parent, sometimes you have to be selfish before you can be selfless. Our kids need us at our best and frankly, if we don’t take care of ourselves, the stress alone can destroy our physical and emotional health. What good will we be to our kids then?

Even if we only spend a few minutes a day, doing something for ourselves, it can have a positive impact. Right now, I’ve found that listening to music is helping me relax. In the warmer weather, I love walking. Some people have a cup of coffee or tea to help them chillout. It’s different for everyone because everyone’s situation is different.

On this Motivational Monday, please remember to take care of yourself and leave a comment below, sharing what you do to take care of yourself.. ☺