The other day, I went to my doctor’s office and left blood samples, etc. Am I sick? No, but today I am going back for my annual physical. This gives me an excuse to repeat an important message:
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.
Parents, it’s easy to get caught up in taking care of your kids, doing your best at work, giving back through volunteering, etc. But it will all come crashing down if you are not taking care of yourself.
A wise friend once told me, “It’s not being selfish to take care of your health. You need to stay healthy so you can keep doing all those things for the people you love.”
If that’s not enough encouragement, then read about my friend (and homeschooling mentor—see this earlier post) Pamela Price’s harrowing account of her encounter with Graves’ Disease: “{Blog Hop} The Most Important Type of Self-Care for Parents”, Pamela Price, Red, White & Grew, September 16, 2013 (part of a Gifted Homeschoolers Forum blog hop). Pamela says:
[T]he most important form of self-care–above bubble baths, red wine, GNOs, exercise, and good nutrition–is to get yourself to a doctor regularly for a check up.
More humor and wisdom from the GHF blog hop: “{GHF Blog Hop} Self-care while homeschooling”, Jen Merrill, Laughing at Chaos, September 16, 2013 (also at Huffington Post). Pamela and Jen are both homeschoolers, but their advice is valid for ALL parents.
This will be my fourth physical with the same family physician. She has a concierge practice, so she has time to answer my questions, and a detailed annual physical is built into the plan. (We loved the pediatrician who took care of our kids when they were newborns—a country doctor who found himself surrounded by the city that grew up around him—but he closed his practice due to illness.) It works well to have the same doctor treating everyone in the family. We have all benefitted from consistent care.
It takes time to go to the doctor for a physical. But it’s worth it. Please, if you haven’t had a physical in the last year, call your doctor and set one up. If you need the names of good family doctors, come to the Facebook page or the Facebook discussion group and we’ll start a thread.
Related: On Feburary 8, The Shops at La Cantera is hosting the 2nd annual Red Run 5K run/walk event benefiting the American Heart Association and Go Red For Women. “Mall Happenings – February Events”, Christina Coker, Fearless Fashionista San Antonio, February 4, 2014.
