The French Girl’s Guide to Everything

Back in October I stumbled across a blog post that changed my life. It was The French Girl’s Guide to Self Care and I can’t tell what made me want to click on the link. I was on Pinterest and the pin for the article was there but something made me click. Once I did I read the article and then began following the blog. I thought I would give this self care routine a try and ended up coming up with a whole new daily routine that made my life so much better.

I was really struggling with so many different things. So when I read the post I loved the way she describes how French woman approach self care. Not striving for perfection.

Before diving into the five tips to do self-care like a French woman, you need to understand the French approach to wellness, which I call the “laissez faire” approach (in English “let it be”). French women do not strive for perfection and it’s an important fact to understand as I don’t want you to believe you HAVE to follow religiously ALL the tips listed below to feel great and relaxed. Do not make drastic changes to your routine, but instead adopt one, two, or three of the French tips below, you know you’ll enjoy. The French approach to self-care is, above all, feeling good with yourself. And it’s rather different from having something imposed on you. Just take a more relaxed approach to wellbeing.

Leonce Chenal

My grandmother (my father’s mother) was French. I remember her always having this stress free way about her. I don’t know if it’s because of how she was raised or something she learned as she got older. I can’t ever remember her stressing out about things the way other do.

Routines

One of the biggest things I took away from the post was I needed to have better routines. I used to get up and be stressed all day. On days when I was tired I just slept. All of the ups and downs had me stressed. In October, I began a new ,owning routine with the French philosophy in mind. I also ran across this article that gave me somewhere to start. I began getting up earlier and noticed within a week or two I was able to function better. This is what my morning looks like now:

4:00–5:00 am I wake up, make myself a cup of tea and then crawl back into the bed and just wake up. I read the morning paper, say my daily rosary, and just enjoy getting ready for the day ahead.
5:00–6:30 am I take this time to do an article or two for work. I don’t open my email at all. I just draft a few articles. I’m still sitting in the bed and just take the time to get something down. It’s quiet and I no much more clearly.
6:30–7:00 am This is the time I take to make my bed, lay out what I plan to wear for the day, take my meds, weigh myself, check my blood pressure, blood sugar, and all those other things I have to do every morning for my health.
7:00–8:30 am My morning workout (cardio, toning, etc) and my walk. During my walk I listen to the Bible for the first lap and then either music or a podcast. It just depends on the mood I’m end.
8:30–9:00 am Morning beauty routine, shower, get ready for the day. 9:00–10:00 am Breakfast and getting ready for work. During this time I have some orange juice, read the rest of the newspaper, maybe some of a book. Whatever to get myself ready for the work day ahead of me.

When I sit down at my computer my head is in work mode. It helps things flow so much better in my every way. One thing you may be wondering is where are the kids in that schedule?

A New Normal

Last year my ex came to me and said he wanted the children to be with him. Originally him and his new wife wanted to fight for custody which meant another struggle. After my hospital stay and some rather heated discussions we decided that we could agree to six months with me and then six months with him. Up until Christmas Eve the kids were with me and my routine was a little different. Ow they are with their dad and I get them every other weekend.

I admit at first this was hard for me. Now, I will say this could not have been better. At this point in my fight against congestive heart failure I’m doing okay. However, I needed more help than I was ready to admit. This new normal gives me plenty of time to help my recovery along and still be there for the kids.

Loving Who I Am

These days I love who I am and who I have become. I no longer spend hours struggling just to not get anything accomplished. I don’t strive for perfection every moment of every day. I simply take joy in the small things like a beautiful sunset while walking. I appreciate the breakfast I am having and enjoy it more than I ever did. I don’t shovel food in but take the time to appreciate the work I put into it.I don’t go out and grab something fast and fattening either. If I feel that I need a snack, I eat some fruit. I am the woman I always wanted to be.