The Importance of Self-Care for the Homeschooling Military Spouse
Self-care has become a fashionable buzzword in our culture. Still, as Dr. Sharita Knobloch points out, self-care deserves a key place in the life of every homeschooling military spouse.
Dr. Sharita Knobloch joins Crystal Niehoff this week on the Military Homeschool Podcast to discuss the importance of self-care for homeschooling military spouses. Owner of Army Wife Network, and former homeschool mom, Sharita draws from her educational journey and experience as a military spouse to hone and practice self-care routines. In this interview, she shares her years of insight with us.
Self-care is a commonly used phrase nowadays, but what does it really mean in practice?
Sharita says of self-care, “I think it’s very much a buzzword. And just because it’s a buzzword, I don’t want it to lose its capability or its power.”
She explains, “. . . there’s a lot of words out there that we talk about all the time. And the more we talk about them, sometimes it seems they’re not quite as strong.” Still, “self-care is the secret ingredient for thriving in this life, whether that’s in a professional role or a personal role as a mother or milspouse.”
She then defines self-care as just what it says- taking care of yourself. However, “the concept seems almost selfish,” Sharita adds. “I think for a lot of us moms who feel like our calling is a very selfless kind of experience,” that self-care may seem “a little counterintuitive.”
For example, we may feel that we shouldn’t put ourselves first or make ourselves a priority because that would be selfish. Plus, taking care of ourselves may also mean pushing something else aside to make time, so Sharita recognizes that the concept of self-care is “a contrary way of thinking.”
Why is self-care important to homeschooling military moms?
Sharita answers, “Because when we put ourselves first, when we take care of ourselves, whatever that looks like, we have more to give to those people that really matter. And we’re also giving of our best self because it’s so easy to put them first, but we keep everyone else first; we neglect ourselves . . forget about our own self-care. So then we wonder why we’re so short with our spouse, our kids, our boss, or even not compassionate to ourselves.”
Listen to the Military Homeschool Podcast as Sharita gives tips for creating a doable self-care routine for whatever phase of homeschooling and military life you’re in. Whether you are the mom of preschoolers or high schoolers, you’ll learn why self-care isn’t selfish; it’s essential!
*For more tips from Crystal on Homeschooling Life, visit our homepage.
