Let’s Look: Our Wellness Routines

 Hello,

I’m linking up again this month to join Shay from Mix and Match Mama and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything’s link party for “Let’s Look”. I love that these topics are a glimpse into our normal, everyday life and it’ll be so much fun to look back years from now and remember what we were up to!

My wellness routine these days is a lot less singularly focused on sprints or gym time and a lot more of a holistic approach so here we go! 

Mind

1. I do a lesson of Duolingo Spanish every evening as part of my quiet time to keep this skill up. I’ve always loved learning languages and even tested in the Army as having a strong aptitude for this, this feels right to me. (I already speak French and my Arabic is still there albeit a little rusty, but if I want to ever do sea turtle conservation work I feel like Spanish might be the way to go. 🙂)

2. I spend time volunteering with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Getting out is important to me during the day, but the kids’ schedules between appointments and the standard school changes are fluid enough that it makes more sense for me to keep this at a volunteer capacity. A lot of what I do is data management and turning large data sets into digestible power bi/graphic representations to answer conservation and individual specific questions. However, I still get to do some observation/browse gathering/interactions which is always fun. 😉

3. Seeing a therapist regularly. Since our second miscarriage last May, I recognized that I really needed to start seeing someone as too much was starting to bubble over. Between my transition from Army Captain to stay-at-home mom, multiple medical diagnosis for my kids, and then losing another pregnancy, I was trying to figure out this latest stage of life and failing. I’m so grateful that the VA has this resource and these visits have made me a much stronger person and much better able to cope with transitions and events I never anticipated.

4. Prioritizing what works for me and my family has been extremely valuable. I listen to a LOT of minimalist content on Spotify and YouTube, I’ve decluttered a lot of stuff, obligations, and even relationships that we’re no longer serving us. I’m happier for this, even though the process can be hard, it’s been very rewarding. 🥰

5. I prioritize relationships that matter to me. I have some wonderful friends whom I text with regularly (daily meme war still going strong after a decade!), amazing family who stays in contact over the phone, an amazing bestie who I spend quality time with multiple times a week between reality TV girls night and impromptu gardening chats, and a beautiful family of my own to spend endless hours bonding with and loving alongside my best friend and spouse Sulev.

Body

1. I still workout daily, it just looks different now. If you had told me that I would leave the Army and then start rucking for fun five years ago, I’d have laughed myself to tears. However that’s a lot of what I do now. I actually look forward to these daily hikes and it feels more like hiking in Alaska than a force march. 😉 I also swim a bit more now to keep current for lifeguarding to keep the pools open at the Y which has been nice to know that I’ve still got it. 

2. Weekly pedicures have also become part of my routine. I do this myself on Sunday afternoons and it makes me happy and takes care of my feet. So necessary for putting on miles and avoiding the dreaded ingrown toe nails. 😣

3. I’m taking several vitamins and supplements with the help of my doctors, everyone is different so I will guarantee that what’s right for me will not be for everyone. This is especially true as I’ve kept up with a vegetarian diet for a while now. I encourage everyone to talk with your doctor and find what’s right for you.

Spirit

1. Finding a church that we love and a church family that we can bond with has been a huge win for our entire family’s wellness. We love Church of the Redeemer Cincy and are always happy to add to this family. They were there for us during some dark times and we hope to be a light for others when they need it. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful community to love on and challenge each other constantly to make us all better.

2. Daily Bible Study. I’m so grateful to Shay from Mix and Match Mama for influencing me to check out the Bible Recap. I wanted to read through the entire Bible and this study gives a good pace and a lot of meaningful context. So much so that I’m doing it again this year and added the study guide to my daily routine as well to dig deeper. 

That’s all for this month, I’m very grateful for everything and feeling very strong in my wellness journey. I know that this is something that I will continue to adapt as life happens, but I feel good and significantly more resilient than even this time last year. 

💛Jessie