Sometimes I think we get so caught up in everything we have to do that we forget about the things that make us us.
The big things are easy to remember.
A holiday. A birthday. A night out with your friends.
But actually, I think it's often the really little things that bring you back to yourself.
A cup of tea while it's still hot.
Getting outside when the sun is shining.
A walk with the dogs.
A good laugh.
An hour with the people you love where nobody is rushing off anywhere.
For me, a lot of those moments happen right here at home.
The bits of life I don't want to rush through
This photograph is one of those things.
It's my family and the life we've built around us. As a mum, it's very easy to feel like you're constantly doing. Making breakfast, finding shoes, tidying up, answering questions, sorting the next thing and some days feel like one long list.
But then there are the moments in between.
The boys laughing, a muddy pair of wellies left by the door, the dogs running around outside, time spent with family, those are the moments I want to remember.
The key is slowing down enough to actually notice them.
Finding your way back to yourself
I think we can all lose ourselves a little bit when life gets busy. You become someone's mum, someone's wife, someone's daughter, the person who organises everything and the person everyone comes to when they need something. Those things can be a huge part of who you are, but they aren't all of you.
You're still the person who loves a certain song, who laughs far too loudly, who enjoys a long bath and who loves being outside. You're still the person who wants five minutes of peace with a coffee, who hasn't read a book in ages but keeps buying them anyway, or who used to make plans simply because they sounded fun.
Sometimes feeling like yourself again isn't about making a huge change. It's about finding your way back to those little pieces of you and giving them a bit of space.
It will look different for everyone
What makes you feel like yourself is going to be completely different to someone else, and I think that's the lovely thing about it. Maybe it's going for a run, cooking something properly from scratch, sitting in the garden or meeting a friend for a coffee. Maybe it's getting dressed up for no particular reason, having the house to yourself and doing absolutely nothing.
And sometimes, it might be booking an hour where someone else looks after you for a change.
There isn't a right way to do it, and it doesn't have to look like the perfect version of self-care you see online. I think the important thing is noticing what genuinely makes you feel good. Not productive, not useful and not like you've ticked something off your list. Just good.
Don't wait until you need it
This is something I've really come to believe in. We shouldn't have to wait until we're completely exhausted before we take some time for ourselves. We shouldn't need to be running on empty before we decide that we deserve a little rest.
Life is busy, and it probably always will be.
But there will also always be little moments you can take for yourself, and those moments matter.
Looking after yourself isn't about becoming a different person or stepping away from the life you love. It's about giving yourself enough space to actually enjoy it, and sometimes, just enough time to feel like you again.
A little reminder from me
So, if you've been feeling a little lost in the busyness lately, think about the things that make you feel most like yourself. Not the things you think you should be doing, but the really simple things that make you feel happy, calm or just a bit more like the person you were before the day got so busy.
Whatever it is, don't wait for the perfect time.