Me Time

When people hear that you are a stay at home mom, they often assume that you sit around eating Bon-Bons all day and watching soap operas.  But as moms (stay at home or working) we all know that there is never enough time in the day to get everything done.  We are in perpetual motion, just like our kids.  We are cleaning, cooking, teaching, chauffeuring, changing diapers, doing laundry, buying groceries, running errands, and on and on.  Then we have those things that we do because we enjoy - blogging, crafting, spending time with our spouses, but frequently even these things are done on a schedule that must be completed (or at least we feel compelled to complete by a certain time so that we don't fall behind).  But how often do we take the time to truly relax and enjoy some time for ourselves?  Not often enough.


Every once in awhile, this hits me head on.  I just have a day when I feel overwhelmed and unmotivated.  Yesterday was one of those days.  The house needed picked up, I needed to take care of mother's day and birthday gifts, I needed to weed the flower beds, I needed to go to the post office, I needed to finish sewing Little Bear's diaper inserts, I needed to do laundry, I needed to cook supper, I needed to play with Little Bear, I needed to exercise the dog, I needed to spend time with Papa Bear, the floors needed scrubbed, the toilets needed cleaned, I needed to iron, I needed to work on my blog, I needed to schedule a play date, I needed return some emails, and on and on and on...  And I know that I am not the only one who gets these days.

So do you know what I did?  I did the bare minimum to get through the day - the things that truly were important (played outside with Little Bear, Papa Bear and the dog then warmed up left overs for supper).  And after Little Bear went to bed, I took a long shower, snuggled up in bed, finished a book and went to sleep early.  And it was so worth it!  I woke up this morning with the same list of things to do, but a whole different attitude.  And did the world end yesterday when I didn't accomplish my to do list?  Absolutely NOT!

I know that we all know how important "me" time is and I also know how far down it falls on our to do lists.  But I just wanted to remind everyone what a difference it can make when you take a little time and spoil yourself, especially with Mother's Day coming up next weekend.  It doesn't have to be anything big or fancy, just take some time for yourself.  You deserve it - celebrate yourself and all that you do for your family!  :o)  And Happy early Mother's Day!