With Mother’s Day around the corner, I asked my mom to come hang out and do a mother daughter photoshoot! Since my parents live just 45 minutes away, we actually get to kick it a lot as a family. But I love spending time with my mom one on one because I always get amazing advice – usually about how to be a stronger woman, a better wife, and increasingly, even some tips on motherhood (though I’m nowhere near there yet!). As we always do with family pics, we decided on a color scheme for our outfits and then linked up with my photographer to snap away. I’ll share the final pictures on Mother’s Day, but in the meantime, I wanted to share three lessons I’ve learned over the years from my mom, on the importance of self-care.

Make Time for Me Time

When I was growing up, every other weekend, like clockwork, my mom either had a hair appointment or a nail appointment. We knew not to ask her to take us anywhere between 10 and 2 on certain Saturdays because that was HER time. She literally called it her “me time,” and to this day, she doesn’t compromise on taking out special time to focus on pampering herself. Whether it’s getting a fresh manicure, a facial, massage, or getting her sister locs refreshed, my mom’s “me time” is a sacred opportunity for her to relax, reward, and rejuvenate herself.

I’m pretty bad at establishing a consistent “me time,” since I sometimes work on Saturdays to create blog content or go to events, and I try to focus on schoolwork during the week. While my mom showed up to our date with spring nails, my nails were, well, busted. Even though I might always have time to get a full on manicure, I carry a travel sized bottle of Walgreens beauty Nourish Lotion in my purse to keep my hands and cuticles moisturized. I do try and incorporate some me time during my everyday skincare routine, and never miss an opportunity to lather my body with a hydrating, paraben free body lotion. Lavender is a calming scent, but the assortment of Walgreens beauty body lotions – which are all $4 for the month of May – comes in different scents for all your moods.

Work Hard, Play Harder

Both my parents are extremely hard workers, but my mom managed to have a career while also making dinner for our family almost every single night. Even outside of work, when she volunteered for things in church or with the community, she committed 150% of all she had to the tasks at hand. She embodies the philosophy of hard work, but she also makes out time to play. Whether it’s going to a party, the mall, or on vacation, my mom is always looking for a way to have a good time! Seriously, every time our family all gets together, my mom is like “ok so when’s the fun starting?”.

As a PhD student and blogger, I can sometimes get really caught up in the busyness of the day to day. I work extremely hard, but because a large part of my job is on my phone, sometimes it’s difficult to turn it off. I need to be more like my mom and make sure that I’m just as serious about fun and relaxation as I am about my work.

Laugh Often

The only thing that my mom loves to do more than have fun, shop, or dance – at least that I know of – is to laugh. My momma is always cracking jokes on somebody! If you’re not quick on your feet with a joke or a comeback, she’s definitely going to side eye you. Her whole vibe is one of joy!

Laughing often is a self-care strategy that I actually do pretty well! I inherited my mom’s sense of witty humor, and Jonathan provides enough corny dad jokes to keep us both laughing every day. I love being silly on Instagram stories, even if I’m having a stressful day, because laughing and making other people laugh makes me feel better!

I’m glad that I was able to spend some one on one time with my mom last weekend and to be reminded of some of her self-care principles. As I continue to mature as a wife, and eventually, a mother, I’m grateful to have a sage confidant that can continue to guide me!

What has your mom taught you about self-care?