It was a much different experience than I expected during my period of “Learning to Live Again” after being a caretaker for so long. I titled this article “baby steps,” because sometimes it feels like that is what we are taking to get ourselves back to normal. There are many small, new adjustments we must make after going through any sort of caretaking journey, because it is almost impossible to approach life the same way as you did before.
There are certainly things you may have once enjoyed doing, but in the midst of many life changes, you had to put them aside for a while. In my own experience, I know that many things that were once part of my daily or weekly routine weren’t as easy to jump back into as I had expected them to be.
Pacing yourself back into life is a good thing to do. You might find that some of those hobbies you used to enjoy don’t seem quite as appealing now. It is kind of like a process of “out with the old and in the new!” Find your joy in something that you want to do, something that you desire to spend your time and energy doing. You may have a newfound perspective on life and how you want to live it.
Being careful to ease back into things can help you both emotionally and physically. You don’t want to have to work too hard at things right away.If you find you are becoming too exhausted, then pull back and give it a rest. When making a schedule or list of priorities, be sure to put yourself and something you enjoy doing on there. Just focus on making progress to find that new normal, whatever that may look like for you.
I can remember having that feeling of guilt as I took those baby steps to try and get back into the mainstream of life, but those little steps can turn out to be very big steps towards continuing to heal. Before you know it you will be running!
(originally published on Shannon Miller)
“No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Unknown
