I get it; I really do. My husband and I are super frugal, and some actually might call us cheap, so the idea of spending extra money on flowers or candy just because the calendar tells us to is something we normally roll our eyes at. Although, disclaimer here, I do tell him it would be nice from time to time to grab a bouquet of flowers for his lovely wife!
However, what I think we all should do a little more of on this Valentine's Day is love ourselves. I know this might sound cheesy, but most of us are the kind of people who put everyone else's needs ahead of our own, and we need to slow down and coin the mantra of extending grace to ourselves. So, why not do just that this Valentine's Day?
Here are some ideas to dote on yourself this Valentine's Day!
Write yourself a note. It is easy to think of all that we are not versus all that we are. Why not focus on the latter this Valentine's Day? I encourage you all to do that. This will help improve both your self-worth and your self-esteem.
Make a ME day. Even if it is just from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while the kids are in school and after the cows are milked and fed. Watch Netflix. Read a book. Take a bath. Or do all three. Making it low-key makes it more doable than carving out a spa day that comes with actually getting off the farm, not to mention the extra cost.
Take a social media break. Stay off Facebook or Instagram or whatever outlet is your jam. It is so easy to allow the noise from others to dampen our own joy. You see friends vacationing on a beach while you're feeding calves in the cold. You see friends buying a new car, while you just put a $500 part in your old vehicle. I totally get it. Unplug, even if it’s temporarily. It does a mind good.
Be selfish. Grab a coffee. Go out to lunch with a friend or your spouse. Buy yourself a new blouse or a new color of polish. It is okay to put ourselves first every once in a while.
This Valentine’s Day look in the mirror and realize all the good that makes you, YOU! If you find yourself needing a break this winter, why not pause and extend some love to yourself. Do this always, but especially today.
XOXO!
Karen Bohnert is a second-generation dairy farmer, born and raised on her family dairy in Oregon and moved east after graduating from Oregon State University. Karen and her husband work in partnership with family, and they along with their three children live and work on the family's 500 Jersey cow dairy in East Moline, Ill. Karen's pride and love for dairy could fill a barn, and she actively promotes dairy anyway she can.
