Physical needs

I remember a day last year when a first grader had already been sent to the office twice and it wasn't yet 9:00 am.  

I was asked to walk him back to class and as I did I noticed he wasn't himself.  

Experience has taught me to check in with physical needs first.  

"Did you have breakfast today?"

"Yeah.  I had oatmeal at my babysitters."

Ahhh.  A before school babysitter.  Serving many of our factory families, we have multiple parents who drop kids off between 3-4 am so they can work that shift.  It's not ideal, but few people can truly live the ideal and his parents were doing what they could to provide for him and his sister. 

"Did you go back to sleep at the babysitters?"

He shook his head no.  "I couldn't.  I left my blanket at home. "

"So now you are extra tired! Why don't we go back down and see if you can lay down for a bit. "

I walked him to the nurses office and she made a space for him on a bed and he was quickly sound asleep.  When he woke an hour later he was ready to return to class and had a great day.  

Just like children, we as adults also need to be aware of our physical needs.

It definitely won't solve everything, but it's a great place to start.  

I read this phenomenal advice this week:

If you feel like you hate everybody....

Eat something. (Preferably healthy!)

If you feel like everyone hates you....

Get some sleep.

If you feel like you hate yourself.....

Take a shower.

If you feel like everyone hates everyone...

Go outside. 

Elder Marvin J Ashton reminded, "May we remind each other that the strongest helping hand is most often the one closest to ourselves—our very own hands. Can you consider your own options for self-help as problems arise? Or do you toss your arms in the air and say, “Oh, no!” or “Why me?” Can you quietly sit down, review the facts, and list all the possible courses of action? Can you identify causes and determine remedies? Quiet contemplation can solve problems more quickly than frantic force."

There are certainly frequent opportunities to both give and receive service.  But we were also created to be able to assume some of our own care.  

And thankfully many of those options also happen to be inexpensive.

Eat.  Shower.  Sleep.  Go outside.