I was going to call this Topic something cute, like Refresh or Renew. But let’s just call it what it is. Every Mom Needs a Break.
I hope I don’t have to convince you of this. Every. Mom. I’m just gonna assume that you’re on board with me here and dive right into how to make this happen. If you don’t believe that you need a break, then send me an email and I’ll set you straight.
How? How? How?
I asked myself that question a while back because I had slipped out of the habit of taking time to reboot. I pointed the question towards my lovely friends on Facebook and Twitter and got some interesting ideas:
A mandatory daily rest time for kids while mom hangs out. Alone. Sounds so lovely, and I’ve actually done this a few times. It just very rarely works with our schedule. When it does, I usually use that time to catch up on housework.
Putting the kids in bed earlier and having time alone then. This might work, but it is my only time alone with my hubbs.
Waking earlier. Okay, I’ve done this, too. And that time is strictly for God. Then Facebook. Sometimes, Facebook is the only adult I talk to all day.
Upon observing these answers, I started to realize lack of time was not my problem. I actually get little breaks here and there quite a bit. So what was the problem? The problem is, I was wasting time!
Instead of taking advantage of little breaks in our day, I was using them to get more work done, text my husband, or comment on someone’s post about what they ate for lunch. I decided that I would be more intentional about making time each day to refresh and renew. (Sorry, I had to sneak it in there somewhere)
That means I had to start writing it on my to-do list. Right between giving the dog a bath and taking out the trash. Oh, wait. That’s my husband’s list.
Anyway. Make the time, put it on the list, mark your calendar. Post it on the mirror.
Next, decide how often you need to get away
My ideal would be about 20 minutes a day, an hour every week, and few hours one Saturday each month.
That is so not happening. What is much more realistic is about 40 minutes on any given day. I don’t come close to getting in every day, but I do much more often than I used to when I just let life happen to me.
The magic thing about 40 minutes is that you can watch a whole episode of Gilmore Girls on DVD while doing some exercises if you want. Once you decide when and how you’ll work in your mommy break, now comes the fun part.
You get to decide what to do
I am an introvert at heart. I crave time alone and when I don’t get it often, I begin to get a major case of the crankies. It took me thirty years to figure this out, but now I just accept it. This is who I am. It’s not that I don’t like to hang out with friends, I do. I also still need to be able to talk to people on a regular basis (hence the whole Facebook thing).
You might be more outgoing and really need to get out and be with your girl friends once a week. Maybe an hour alone reading in a library sounds like torture to you. The key is to find what makes you tick. What floats your boat as my mom would say. Then, you know, do it.
I’ll be posting in this category regularly with ideas for what we’re going to start calling “My Mommy Break.” So let’s get intentional and start planning some time.
Do you take time out for yourself? How do you work it into your day?
Ralph says
Great blog. Keep up the good work 🙂
Jessica says
I just wonder if you have heard of the Highly Sensitive Personality. If you have spent your whole life craving alone time, this might be interesting to you. I love your blog!
https://www.hsperson.com/
It’s nice to know there are quite a bit of non-shy people who need this same exact decompression time. God Bless and happy mom time!