Eat :: Sleep :: Play :: Love
in the fresh air
My mantra for childhood is Eat, Sleep, Play, Love ~ in the Fresh Air.
It works for adults too. When I feel tired, or stressed or wonder what to do, I revert to my mantra of what's most important in daily life.
What Does that Look Like?
Eat
Eat wholesome food. Eat whole food as much as possible. Nutrients matter. The sweets that seem to creep in need the wholesome food for balance. Drink plenty of water. (You too!) Keep your meal times, keep your mealtime routines, keep it all as consistent as you are able. Eat at the same time each day. Sit down and eat at the table together. If you have particular foods for particular days of the week, such as beans and rice Monday, oats on Tuesday, pizza on Friday, stick with that. If you light a candle, do that. If you say a blessing, do that. Be consistent. Hold up the child's world as familiar and consistent.
Sleep
Keep your child's bedtime and bedtime routines. It's easy to slip out of them in the summertime, especially when traveling. In addition to the value of good sleep and enough sleep, the comfort of the familiar is soothing. Keep your bedtime rituals. If your bedtime routine is bath, jammies, bed, story, prayer, keep the sequence in order. Keep it as consistent as possible.
Play
Be sure to carve out time for free, self initiated play. Clear out the stuff and keep the play area simple. Honor your child's need for quiet self initiated play, with no narrative, no interruptions.
Love
This is for moments of connection through out the day. It's easy to be distracted during summer when our home rhythm goes out of whack, or when we travel and are away from home. Take special care to spend time with your child each day. It may be snuggling up in a quiet spot for a story after lunch, or going outside for a walk together, or just taking your child's hand for a squeeze. As Gordon Neufeld reminds us, connect with the eyes, the smiles and the nods of the head.
Remember to make the connection first, with the loving eyes, the warm smile and the nod that says, "I'm with you." Then use the gentle re-direction with the royal we, "We do it like this," or with gentle guidance, "It's time for ____ come along." Let connection be the foundation.
Nature soothes and heals. Spend some time out of doors everyday, filling the bird feeder, taking a walk in the woods, swimming, checking on a neighbor, running in circles around the house, and looking up at the stars in the night sky.
Stir In
Stir in some warmth in the form of lullabies, snuggles, stories, singing together, laughter, bubble baths, warmth of heart as well as fire: with a candle at meals, a campfire outdoors, sand between your toes, sun on your face, the element of fire is both warming and soothing.
For Now
Hindsight is everything. ;-) Consider creating a rhythm for the rest of your summer and for the upcoming school year that creates a spaciousness of time.
Warmly,
