March 9, 2026

Caregiver Self-Care: Why Sleep, Stress & Health Matter More Than Bubble Baths

Caregiver Self-Care: Why Sleep, Stress & Health Matter More Than Bubble Baths
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Forget the bubble-bath checklist. We dig into a practical, body-first approach to caregiver self-care that actually holds under pressure: better sleep, objective stress data, scaled movement, protected solitude, and preventive health that keeps you in the game. I share how a therapist’s tough wake-up call led me to a sleep study, what “daytime sleepiness” really means on the road, and how an oral appliance changed my oxygen, sleep quality, and mornings. We explore why you can feel exhausted after a “full night” and what it takes to make sleep count when you’re balancing the relentless demands of caregiving.

From there, we talk tools that don’t hijack your attention. The Oura Ring has been a quiet revolution for tracking sleep stages, HRV, and recovery without another screen buzzing on your wrist. Seeing stress in numbers helped me shift workouts, add breathwork, and take short walks that actually bring my system down rather than push it over the edge. Movement becomes strategic: on good days, run or lift; on strained days, yoga, stretching, or a slow ride. Ten minutes can change the tone of an entire afternoon.

We also get honest about solitude. As an introvert in a loud, hands-on role, scheduled quiet time is non-negotiable. Thirty minutes in a dark room, no texts, no talk, can reset a nervous system that’s been on high alert for years. And we round it out with annual checkups, lab work, mammograms, and eye exams—the dashboard lights for the most important machine you own. The theme is simple: personalize your self-care to your body’s weak links, measure what matters, and treat maintenance like mission-critical safety. If you’ve ever felt unseen by generic advice, this conversation hands you a tighter, smarter playbook.

If this helped, subscribe, share it with a caregiver who needs backup, and leave a review so more folks can find us. Your story might be the nudge someone else needs.

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TEXT 'PODCAST" to +1 404 737 1449 - to give J topic ideas, feedback, say hi!
Be sure to leave us a review!

00:00 - Opening And Why Self-Care Matters

00:59 - Caregiver Safety And Supervision Tech

04:49 - Self-Care Cliches Versus Real Needs

07:19 - Sleep Crisis And The Wake-Up Call

09:32 - Sleep Study, Daytime Sleepiness, And Risks

11:06 - Dental Device That Transformed Sleep

12:04 - Measuring Stress With The Oura Ring

14:33 - Move Daily Without Overloading Stress

16:27 - Solitude As Essential Maintenance

18:16 - Annual Exams And Body Maintenance

20:39 - Personalizing Self-Care To Your Body

22:59 - Closing And Community Invitation

WEBVTT

00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:08.800
It was my therapist who said, girl, if you don't start getting better sleep, you're gonna die before your mom.

00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:18.239
I realized very much so during this caregiver journey that if I don't have some time alone, I'ma pop.

00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:21.120
I don't even have to do nothing.

00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.039
I can just be laid in my bed.

00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:29.519
Because my goal is to be the best caregiver and human being I can.

00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.399
But listen, I can't be working with broke equipment.

00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:43.600
Like imagine if you never put gas in your car, or if you never got your new tires, or you never rotated the tires, or you never got the damn thing in alignment.

00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:44.079
Right?

00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:45.520
You don't do none of that.

00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:52.799
You don't get the car aligned, you're gonna be driving crooked cat a corner all across the highway, knocking shit out of other cars.

00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:55.359
Just because you didn't do what?

00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:56.640
Maintenance.

00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:58.960
What's up, parenting up family?

00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.719
This episode, we are digging into self-care.

00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:05.120
And I mean digging, digging, digging.

00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:07.040
Everybody talks about it.

00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.239
Everyone wants everybody to do it.

00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.400
But what the hell is it?

00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.480
And how does it really work in our community?

00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.640
We're about to get into caregiver self-care.

00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:21.680
Uh-huh.

00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:22.640
Come on.

00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:33.280
Parenting up Caregiving Adventures with comedian Jay Smile is the intense journey of unexpectedly being fully responsible for my mama.

00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:44.799
For over a decade, I've been chipping away at the unknown, advocating for her, and pushing all time of awareness on anyone in anything in the heart.

00:01:53.439 --> 00:02:00.719
Caregiver newbie, OGs, and village members just willing to prop up a caregiver.

00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.200
You are in the right place.

00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:05.120
Hi, this is.

00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:34.639
She says, if your mom doesn't have the capacity to call out or press a button, all caps, they should not be alone.

00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.120
They need a caregiver or to be an assisted living.

00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:45.759
First thing I want to say, Rhonda McKnight, 2596 is I agree.

00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:58.879
If your career cannot think through pressing a button or calling for help, they should not be alone.

00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:01.280
Zeti is never alone.

00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:04.400
She has 24-7 caregivers.

00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:10.639
However, nobody has a person with them.

00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:12.639
I should say nobody.

00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:19.280
It is rare for a person to have 24-hour 100% supervision.

00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.360
Because Zeti has one-on-one caregivers at home, but guess what?

00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:24.960
They gotta go to the bathroom.

00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:29.199
So they leave her somewhere safe and they go to the bathroom.

00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:31.120
Or they have to fix her meal.

00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:36.080
And in those two to 10 to 20 minutes, something could happen.

00:03:36.479 --> 00:04:05.199
And what I was suggesting as an engineer and a product designer is wouldn't it be amazing if there were devices invented such that a person with dementia, if they fall or go unconscious, something alerts 911, or maybe the caregiver that's in the other damn room that doesn't realize their mama or they daddy just slumped over and fell out the fucking chair.

00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:15.039
Having a loved one that cannot communicate their needs is the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life.

00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:21.839
You're constantly guessing what they need and how to provide what they need.

00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.439
So, yes, please have someone watching over your loved one.

00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:34.240
Maybe it's just you have cameras that you can see, and then you can go and assist your loved one when they need something.

00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:39.759
But overall, do whatever it is to keep them safe.

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.759
If you want to be the recipient of a supporter shout out, you know what to do.

00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:48.560
Leave a comment and a review at Apple Podcasts or YouTube.

00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:51.519
Alright, y'all, self-care.

00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:57.680
It is the new worn-out phrase in everything medical.

00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:07.680
Take care of yourself, self-care, prioritize your time, and uh go get a massage and read a book, do a bubble bath.

00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:08.639
What?

00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:12.800
I'm gonna tell you my problem with these.

00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:19.279
All of those I just listed, and many more, they are so general.

00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:27.600
Anybody that's alive will be like, yeah, I want a bubble bath from a baby to an old man.

00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:29.199
Yes, that's relaxing.

00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:35.920
But how do we layer it on the lives that we lead as family caregivers?

00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:50.240
I'm gonna tell you right now, me going out with my girlfriends for a paint sip, drinking some wine, and fucking up one of Picasso's, paint by number, little dilly-dallies.

00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:56.319
While I have a good time, that actually doesn't relieve my stress.

00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:16.000
So, J Smiles is here to tell you about my version of self-care for caregivers, caregiver self-care, and how I've redefined it after over 14 years in this space.

00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:40.480
Y'all, first of all, hanging out with my friends and letting off some steam, that doesn't help if my cholesterol is shitty, if I'm overweight, if I'm not sleeping well, if I have diabetes, if I got cataracts, if I haven't gotten my eyes checked.

00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:42.399
So I'm squinting like this.

00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:48.079
Everybody's listening to the audio, I'm being very, very, very squinty.

00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.600
And old school comedians would say I was being Asian.

00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.319
I'm not saying that, because that's racist, but I'm saying that's what they would have said.

00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.199
That's what I have figured out, y'all.

00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:11.199
The greatest form of self-care as a caregiver is to make sure my body is functioning as best it can.

00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:14.959
Fix what's broken with Jay Smiles.

00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:19.519
Luckily, I don't have heart problems.

00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.560
I don't have diabetes, so that's not my issue.

00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.920
Let me tell you what my issue is though.

00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:31.279
And it has always been an issue, way before being a caregiver.

00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:32.160
Sleep.

00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.759
Me and sleep are frenemies.

00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.319
I need it, but I don't like it.

00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:41.839
I don't like going to sleep.

00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:42.560
I never did.

00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:46.000
Even as like first, second, third grade, I ain't have a bedtime.

00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:47.519
That's another episode.

00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:58.800
But now as I've aged, menopause is whipping my ass, and I've been a caregiver for more than 14 years.

00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.160
Yo, sleep is like water.

00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:04.800
So, what was I supposed to do?

00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.199
I'm not good at sleep, I don't know how to sleep, I don't even take naps well.

00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:19.199
It was my therapist who said, girl, if you don't start getting better sleep, you're gonna die before your mama.

00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:20.879
Now y'all heard me say this before.

00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:22.720
That is the first way.

00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:28.480
If you want to make Jay Smiles change something, tell her she's gonna die before Zeddy.

00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.839
And beep, beep, beep, beep.

00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:37.759
I'm slamming on brakes and backing that thing up because I don't want to leave Zeddy here on this here, earth.

00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:48.799
So I'ma fast forward a little bit through it, but basically what happened, my therapist said, Jay, you gotta sleep.

00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:52.399
And I was like, I get into bed, but I'm not sleeping well.

00:08:52.639 --> 00:09:00.799
She ultimately sent me to a sleep psychiatrist who sent me to a sleep dentist.

00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:05.919
Did y'all know that's I didn't even know that you had that?

00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:13.759
There's like, I know about braces doctor, I mean dentist people and the oral surgeons and the people that can put the fake teeth in your mouth.

00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:18.320
But what the hell does dentistry have to do with me sleeping?

00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:20.720
Anyway, that's how come therapy helps.

00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.480
Look at how the therapist then got me over here.

00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:23.840
Y'all help him asleep.

00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.480
See, so talk to somebody that got some sense.

00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:30.720
Oh, I like to say that she did get a PhD at Howard, but that's how I went.

00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:32.240
I learned that after I was there.

00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:40.720
Anyway, the sleep psychiatrist sent me to have a sleep study.

00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.200
And as luck would have it, I'm right there on the line.

00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:56.399
I I my sleep wasn't disturbed enough to be sleep apnea to get a CPAP, but they said, girl, you have daytime sleepiness.

00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:59.360
You are one step below being narcoleptic.

00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:05.440
You should not drive a car if you haven't had eight hours of sleep.

00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:10.320
Do y'all know how many times I have been a dangerous weapon on the road?

00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.519
Do you know how many times I have driven a car with less than eight hours of sleep?

00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:14.320
Like every day.

00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.200
Pretty much every day since I've been driving since 16.

00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:19.360
I ain't had eight hours of continuous sleep.

00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:20.240
That sounds silly.

00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:22.399
Like, I'm the master of naps.

00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:28.399
Give me two, three, four naps of two or three hours a day, I'm in there.

00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.799
Except, y'all, that's not good for your body.

00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:41.519
Long term, it's not good for your heart, your brain, your kidneys, your lungs, all your liver, all that good stuff.

00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.960
So I went to Dr.

00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:49.440
Sue, and it's S-U-W-A-Y, Dr.

00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:50.080
Sue.

00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:51.440
Dr.

00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:52.080
Sue.

00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.720
And he fitted me for this device.

00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.480
And I'm showing y'all.

00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:07.200
There is a upper and a lower, and it keeps my jaw, my bottom jaw stuck out.

00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:11.840
So it looks, it makes me have an underbite when I'm sleeping.

00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:17.039
But it gives me that extra bit of oxygen because it's opening up my throat.

00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.840
And so now all my sleep numbers are right.

00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:29.919
So if I get a nap, or if I get a whole eight hours, either way, the sleep really counts.

00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.519
How many of y'all are sleeping and waking up just as tired?

00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.840
Okay, that's not normal.

00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.240
I found that out from the sleep pot though.

00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.480
I was like, yeah, hell, I'm still tired.

00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:41.600
No big deal.

00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:45.679
They were like, no, Jay, you're not supposed to still be tired when you wake up.

00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.159
That means you're not having quality sleep.

00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:55.519
If I'm not whole and healthy, stress is gonna hit me harder.

00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:06.559
So again, I'm talking about that self-care for caregivers where you look at the needs of your body and you fix that shit.

00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:15.759
The other thing that is necessary, now I've only had it a little over a year, but it has been a game changer, which is the aura ring.

00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.200
O-U-R-A.

00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.440
And I had a ring on and I'm spinning around to show y'all.

00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:27.600
I had the Apple Watch, I had Fitbits, I was getting on the scale.

00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:29.600
I have a pressure cuff here.

00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.279
I got the little thing, the little pulse ox to tell you what your blood and all that.

00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.679
I have all those gadgets in the house.

00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:37.840
Do I use them every day?

00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:39.600
Hell no.

00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:45.440
And my Apple Watch, to be quite honest, it can do too much.

00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:52.240
It has so much shit going on on it that I end up just texting and answering the phone.

00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.279
Unless I'm going for a run and then I set something.

00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:00.320
But all those other things, there's too much swiping and pressing and gadgetry going on.

00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:05.519
So it gets overwhelming if I'm in the middle of trying to pick Zetty up off the floor.

00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:16.799
But aha, aha, this aura ring, what's so great is it don't have any digital display thing on the ring.

00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.000
So I don't get distracted trying to figure out, am I stressed?

00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:21.200
Did I get enough sleep?

00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:26.960
I just look at the app when I wake up in the morning and kind of midday, how did I sleep?

00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:36.799
It has changed the game for me, y'all, because where it registers my stress being too high, I then know, okay, you know what?

00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:46.399
If I was super stressed yesterday and didn't realize it, do y'all know I've been living in a high alert stress for 14 years and didn't fucking know it?

00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:52.320
I was like, oh, this is not, I'm not supposed to feel this extra anxiety every day.

00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:52.559
No?

00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:53.679
That nobody else is feeling that?

00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:54.639
Everybody's not feeling that?

00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:54.879
No?

00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:59.200
You telling me that there's no tightness in your chest.

00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:00.480
Oh, okay.

00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:00.960
All right.

00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:12.159
So the aura ring for me has been an amazing tracking device to see how I am sleeping and how am I receiving the stress of the day.

00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.159
And I ain't gonna lie to you.

00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:22.879
Now, if my stress numbers are too high throughout the day, I will take a minute, take a 10-minute walk, do some deep breathing.

00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.080
Y'all, then my little stress numbers go down.

00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:30.639
That's how I'm caring for my body, Janae's body.

00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:32.960
Now, the rest of you, you might not have stress.

00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:34.559
Maybe you sleep great.

00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.080
Well, then don't worry about this damn dental device or this ring.

00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:38.799
Do you?

00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:51.679
But the point I'm giving you is I had to figure out where was Janae's body inefficient and a little bit off track.

00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:59.519
The other thing that I gotta do all the time is I have to move some.

00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:02.159
Everybody don't like exercise.

00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.320
I actually do like exercising.

00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:14.399
But there are times when, because of my aura ring or because of the sleep I didn't get, because sometimes I forget to put that sleep that might say in my mouth.

00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:21.519
My stress might already be too high for me to go run full speed.

00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:30.320
Like, don't, I don't want to stress my body working out trying to lift 75 pound weights if my body is already stressed.

00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:31.440
Y'all feel what I'm saying?

00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.679
So those are the days where I just say, you know what?

00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.240
I'm gonna do some slow, warm yoga.

00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.279
Because I don't want to add stress to my system.

00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.120
I got one body.

00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.559
And I'm trying to ride this motherfucker out at least as long as that is alive.

00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:55.120
So swimming or yoga or biking or walking, I have to move something every day or even stretching.

00:15:55.360 --> 00:16:05.360
They have phenomenal, free, okay, five, like 15, 20, 30-minute stretching videos on YouTube.

00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:10.720
Just put in stretching, home stretching, and the amount of time you want.

00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:12.240
Home stretching for 10 minutes.

00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:13.120
It's amazing.

00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:14.799
I put that shit on.

00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:20.480
I'm letting my coffee brew in 10 minutes, I'm done.

00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:22.000
And my heart rate is down.

00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:26.720
This next one, y'all gonna say I'm funny acting.

00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.799
But I'm giving you my truth.

00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.879
Time alone is my self-care.

00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.320
I can't be around people all the time.

00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:39.600
Are you an introvert or extrovert?

00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:41.360
I am an introvert.

00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:42.559
Nobody wants to believe me.

00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.159
They're like, oh, but you're a comedian.

00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:46.080
You always make a talking, you got a podcast.

00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:46.799
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:47.919
Whatever.

00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:54.399
I am social and I'm animated and I'm outgoing and I'm an introvert.

00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:57.519
Just like I'm black from Alabama and a Catholic.

00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:58.960
Those don't go together either.

00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:08.079
I realized very much so during this caregiver journey that if I don't have some time alone, I'm a pop.

00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:10.880
I don't even have to do nothing.

00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.000
I could just be laying in my bed staring at the ceiling.

00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.640
But nobody else can be in my bed.

00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:24.640
Without, listen, okay, since I'm not married, uh there's nobody in my bed.

00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:25.440
Okay, Zeti?

00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:27.119
Oh, I only sleep with my mama.

00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.079
Okay, did I fix that?

00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:29.279
Have I cleaned that up, y'all?

00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:30.880
Shit, that went off the rails.

00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:36.480
Okay, so in any case, even half an hour or an hour.

00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:42.079
And I just won't answer the phone or text messages unless it's about Zettie.

00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:54.960
And my caregivers know if I say, I need downtime, that I have hit a wall, and I go in a room in the house, in the dark, play some music, usually fall asleep, have a nap.

00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:03.440
But the point is, sometimes your self, my self-care isn't active at all and don't involve no fucking people.

00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:04.799
And there's no fun.

00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:06.319
It's just quiet.

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:07.759
Night night.

00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:14.160
I only started doing this after the pandemic.

00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.799
I get my annual exams now for real.

00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:23.119
I get my mammograms.

00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:26.880
Yes, I get these Tata squos and squos good.

00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:35.599
I do the blood work to make sure my A1s, C34s, C3POs are all wherever they're supposed to be.

00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:36.720
I get my eyes checked.

00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:39.680
I'm looking for catalgs and all these kind of things.

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:49.920
Because if my medical history shows a jump or a drop-off from year to year, then I can manage something.

00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:56.480
Because my goal is to be the best caregiver and human being I can.

00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.440
But listen, I can't be working with broke equipment.

00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:10.640
Like imagine if you never put gas in your car, or if you never got your new tires, or you never rotated the tires, or you never got the damn thing in alignment.

00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:11.039
Right?

00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:12.480
You don't do none of that.

00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:22.319
You don't get the car aligned, you're gonna be driving crooked, catacorner, all across the highway, knocking shit out of other cars, just because you didn't do what?

00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:23.920
Maintenance.

00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:32.559
So, caregiver self-care to Jay Smiles, it's maintenance on your own body, your own system.

00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:37.200
The human body is the most phenomenal machine on the planet.

00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.039
And humans didn't invent it.

00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.160
So go figure that.

00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.920
So just take care of it because you can't get another one.

00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:59.200
Um, I hope this new angle on self-care or the Jay Smiles angle uh make sense to you and it rests well with you.

00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.319
I'm sure y'all let me know if you disagree, and that's fine.

00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:06.559
I like when we have a little bit of sparring and stuff within the community.

00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.200
I want to play the game of life.

00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:18.400
I don't want to be injured on the sideline watching somebody else make decisions for me or my mama, because I done fucked around and let myself fall apart.

00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.039
That's all I got.

00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.640
I love y'all.

00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:25.680
The snuggle up.

00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.039
Okay, self-care.

00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.599
It's a hot topic.

00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:45.119
You can Google it, you can chat GPT, you can ask the doctor, the social worker, maybe caregivers that have assisted you with your care eyes, what should I be doing to relieve my stress?

00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:46.880
How can I relax?

00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:49.440
How can I have more meat time?

00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:54.319
And they're gonna give you some suggestions.

00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.720
But nobody knows your body more than that.

00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:04.240
What is your biggest struggle with being healthy?

00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:21.200
Healthy is defined as your blood pressure, your cholesterol, your, I don't know all them numbers, but anyway, your eyes, your, your weight is within a range where you don't have to take 12 new medications.

00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:23.440
What's your vitamin D?

00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:27.599
Your vitamin D12, what are those levels?

00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:35.440
What does your body need to function as effectively and efficiently as possible?

00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.519
Because remember, we are machines.

00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:42.720
We are for but listen, I want to be a Ferrari, right?

00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:51.039
I don't want to be a fucking scooter that has been in 17 accidents that don't even have no damn rear view mirrors no more.

00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.039
I want to be a leamy fat ass.

00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.440
Precision.

00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:01.519
Instrument.

00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.279
That's what your body is.

00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.119
It is a machine and it is up to you to care for it.

00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.680
I told you about how I care for mine.

00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.759
But I gotta, I gotta tell you, this is no lie.

00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.519
I don't really follow those lists.

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.960
I follow the list when I want to go have fun.

00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:23.920
Like, you know what?

00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.000
What can I do to let off steam?

00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:34.160
But my self-care is caregiver self-care specific to keeping my body.

00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.039
In the damn game.

00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.400
Alright, love y'all.

00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:46.799
Thank you for tuning in.

00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:51.200
I mean, really, really, really thank you so very much for tuning in.

00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:59.440
Whether you're watching this on YouTube or if you're listening on your favorite podcast audio platform.

00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:02.720
Either way, wherever you are, subscribe.

00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:03.680
Come back.

00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:06.960
That's the way you're gonna know when we do something next.

00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:08.000
Y'all know how it is.

00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:09.119
I'm Jay Smiles.

00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:12.480
I might just drop something hot in the middle of the night.