#mycare Contest Winners!

What a fun week! 

After my realization that I was self-care deprived, Denise Brown of CareGiving.com and I launched this self-care challenge:

Take care of yourself, take a picture of it, post it on social media using #mycare for a chance to win a prize! The prizes of an “I Care” t-shirt and a $25 Visa gift card were just an added bonus because the real fun was taking care of ourselves as we care for others. 

We picked five winners from the entries posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but from the looks of the pictures, we all won. How much fun was it doing something for ourselves (if even for a minute or two)?  I found myself recognizing activities or moments that are part of my every day that really count as #mycare.

I may have personally started off by fulfilling my self-care with pedicures, manicures and massages but what I realized is I can have a moment or two of #mycare in my backyard with my dogs or lunch on the patio with my husband:

Our winners found #mycare with a home pedicure, gardening, time with friends, a delicious indulgence and a box of chocolates. 

Congratulations to Pegi, Richard, Pear Lady, Y Diaz and Chrisanta!  (Please PM me with your contact info and I will get your prizes out to you). 

Even though the contest has ended, I am going to continue to take care of myself while caring for Robert (and sometimes Richard). I am going to recognize and be more grateful for those snippets of time that can refill my bucket. 

I don’t want to get in that place of forgetting how to care for myself. Of doing things that make me happy and that rejuvenate my spirit. I am going to remember that caring for me is as important as caring for others. 

I can no longer think of self-care as an indulgence – it is a necessity. Let’s help each other remember that.