Our YYC Weekly

YYC Weekly activities & positivity

May 14 - May 21

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Sometimes, 'Self-Care' Means Letting Go

by Allie Percival, Assistant Publisher

Things I've seen this week which are apparently 'self-care' include:

Getting up earlier
Doing your hair and makeup
Meal planning and prep for a week of delicious and healthy (always healthy!) meals
Losing weight
Making gifts for others in your hobby time

Is that really 'self care?'

You already have a list of tasks hundreds of items long every morning; sometimes, that list gets so long and so scary that it wakes you up in the middle of the night or keeps you from sleeping. Even the tiniest tasks on there can start to build up on you psychologically after a while; just having to remember everything you need to do is a huge effort all by itself.

For a lot of people, adding more tasks to feel guilty about not finishing - even if those tasks are supposed to be for you! - is the opposite of self-care. If you're already struggling with too many expectations, 'self-care' tasks are just fuel on the fire.

Here's something that never makes it on to lists of 'self-care' activities - not doing things.

I've got a real self-care challenge for you this week. Don't do something.

Take a minute when everyone is calm to sit down together and explain what you won't be doing this week, if you feel like you need to prepare your family. Delegate to someone else in your household, if at all possible - yep, even if they do it wrong or it takes forever. (Maybe let them delegate something to you next week if they need a self-care break, too.)

Maybe you have some personal guilt you're struggling with right now. Be gentle and patient. Don't focus on self-improvement this week. Don't think about ways you can be the best version of yourself. Don't feel bad for enjoying a couple episodes of trashy TV in your precious moments alone.

As always, I'm thinking of you and cheering for you from the sidelines!

Bored? Try a Theme Week!

by Trista Arney, Staff Writer

Schools often have “spirit days” or themed weeks (think ‘crazy hair day,’ ‘sports jersey day’ for example) for kids to participate in. These fun little activities break up the days of teaching with out-of-the-ordinary experiences and memories while giving children the chance to get creative!

At home, my family has had a few “theme weeks” to break up the daily routine, get creative, and give ourselves something fun to look forward to. Here’s a brief guide to creating a theme week for your family with a few examples of what we’ve done!

Step 1 – Pick a Theme

Sometimes, I’ll just select a theme based on something I know my 7-year-old likes or based on a special day that’s coming up. For example, we did a Star Wars theme week during the week of May the 4th in celebration of Star Wars Day.

Often, though, I will ask him for his input and what he’s interested in right now to guide our theme. Right after in-person school was cancelled, we celebrated Justice League week – my kid was reading a DC Superhero Girls comic book and was very interested in celebrating the different characters!

Step 2 – Pick Activities to Fit Your Theme

Your activities could be different dress up days, coloring pages, party foods, craft projects, LEGO challenges, or anything that relates to the theme that sounds like fun! Activities can be as in-depth or as simple as your family needs.

Adjust for what fits your family. Maybe it isn’t a theme week – maybe it’s one theme day every week, or even once a month. It could even be a themed meal where you decorate your dining room and try something new.