If I were to ask you, "What did you do for yourself today?" What would you say?
As mothers we have often a hard time with that question. Doing something for ourselves might make us feel like we're being selfish or not taking care of the kids or not caring about their needs. Yet this is our full-time job, caring for others, and just as if it was a paid job, we need to take breaks throughout the day.
What you do for yourself might vary depending on the age of your child. Do you love to exercise and can't find time for it? When your baby is a newborn or toddler, that might not be something you get to do everyday, but as he grows older, his needs will change and you might find yourself fitting it in somewhere. Do you love to scrapbook? Maybe you cannot do that every single day, but you can schedule in a time once a month to do it because it brings you joy. The key is to plan moments for yourself and not feel guilty about it.
Although most of us would likely say that we do something fun for ourselves once or twice a month, I encourage you to daily find something you look forward to - something that will relax you, bring you joy, or be an outlet. Before you tune me out for being impractical, let me state that I understand it is hard to find time, especially under certain circumstances - if you work, have more than one child, homeschool, etc... But if you cannot find at least 5 minutes for you at least twice a day, some priorities need to change.
Whenever we do have small pockets of time, we usually try to accomplish something. Today I had 10 minutes and had to call my insurance to work out an issue. Total pain. But later on I found 10 minutes again, and this is what I did:
I went in my room, turned off the light, and laid in the dark. It was quiet. I was alone. Nobody was jumping on me or asking me to make them a snack for the 100th time. I could actually hear myself breathing. After 10 minutes, I got up and emerged from my bedroom with a clearer head and a little more energy. (You might wonder what my boys were doing during that 10 minutes - they were watching a video at that moment - hallelujah!) :)
Today, what is something small that you can do for yourself with a small pocket of time?
Maybe you would read your Bible.
Or have a cup of coffee.
Perhaps you would take a quick nap, or rest for a bit.
Maybe you would read a magazine article.
Or listen to music
Maybe you'd even (gasp) exercise
Or go outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air
Only you can find what works for you.
But please don't do these things and think it will bring you rest:
Peruse the internet
Email someone
Read a blog
Listen to talk radio
Look for jobs
Write a blog post :)
Because hey, I'm all for enjoying time online, reading (and writing) blogs, but it most likely won't bring you rest or joy. Find something creative that you can do that will allow you to stop and breathe without adding more noise to your already crowded mind.
So what would you do right now if you had 10 minutes?
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