There was a week a little while ago, where I prioritized what I needed – a rarity as a stay at home mom of two little ones. I met with clients, pursued career opportunities, went to the gym, went to the driving range, cut & dyed my hair, caught up on my favorite TV shows, & even had a girls night out.
I felt like I was leaving my boys a lot. I felt guilty. I felt selfish.
But I also felt happy and recharged.
I had more energy to give my sons, my husband, my friends. The moments that I was with them mattered a little more, and I didn’t find myself counting down the minutes to bedtime. The week went faster, and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly.
And when I looked back on the week, I realized that the time I took for myself was very minimal compared to the time that I spent with my children.
I had hosted play dates, taken them to Chuck E Cheese, gone on a bike ride, played at the park, gone to the library, taken them to gymnastics, soccer, school, and even taken them to the aquarium. All of that was on top of the normal everyday stuff like feeding them, snuggling them and caring for them.
So while the time I spent doing things for myself seemed huge… when I wrote it all out, I realized that it didn’t seem so crazy. The list of things that I do with and for my children is always longer than the list of things that I do for myself.
Of the approximate 100 hours a week that my children are awake, I spent about 10 hours away from them. That is nothing to feel guilty about. That is something that I should recreate on a weekly basis. And I encourage you to do the same.
