Summer is in full swing for most of us, which means kids out of school or daycare, which means lots of moms finding themselves with out of the ordinary stresses.
So today, I’m talking directly to my fellow moms. I have 3 challenges today to help all the mamas out there to de-stress and make more time for themselves.
Challenge #1: Mom time out-
If anyone’s house is like mine (or if you have older kids, has been in the past), you put your child in time out when they need to calm down, think about what they’ve done, think about what they’re going to do next, make amends, proceed more graciously in the future, etc. How often do you do that for yourself? Take 10 minutes a day….talk to no one, relax, drink tea/coffee, run, meditate, or get in a few reps of your favorite, long forgotten exercise and just clear your own head space.
Challenge #2: Be in another relationship-
Before your kids came along, you had other people in your life. Shocking, right? So, make time to nurture those other relationships: friendships, marriages, co-workers….you have other roles in your life besides mom, so make some room for those people, too. Go on a date with your partner, have coffee with a friend, meet YOUR mom for lunch.
Okay, challenge #3 and I’ve saved the best, perhaps hardest (and I’ll raise my hand on this too!) for last: Be SELFISH-
Example: How often do you go to the grocery store, Target, or even vacation, and come back with something for your child, spouse, neighbor… someone not you? I do it, too! So next time, buy that $9 pair of sandals on sale at Target you’ve passed 15x on your way to the sippy cup aisle. Pick up a coffee instead of a blue slushie. Put $20 aside for a bottle of wine rather than a run to Home Depot for paint for the kitchen. Put 20 minutes aside for a “mom nap” instead of googling the closest splash pad. Do something this week for yourself!
And GO!