lifestyle
An SOS Guide to Getting ‘Me’ Time
As a mother of four I know how challenging it can be to get even an inkling of privacy—especially during the summer months. The children are restless, which leaves most parents constantly scrambling to find new ways to keep them entertained, busy, and from tearing the house (and each other) apart. This leads to a weary mom with very little time to herself. And while patience levels are usually high, days and nights on end of handling the children can lead to a mom in distress.
This is where ‘rapid response’ actions are needed.
3 Ways to Get "Me" Time During the Summer
When the need for time to yourself is at an ‘S.O.S’ status, here are three things you can try:
Become BFFs with the Bathroom
Yes, taking up a brief residence in your bathroom may see tiny hands knocking on the door to ‘check if you’re okay,’ but the sacrifice will be worth it to steal away for a few minutes by yourself. If you have younger children, use a baby video monitor to keep tabs on them during your brief break.
Have a Kid/Mommy Movie Night
If you have a television and DVD player in more than one room of your home, orchestrating a movie night for both the kids and yourself is another great way to sneak moments alone into the summer schedule. Allow the kids to select two or three movies to watch while you pick out a couple for yourself. Once the kids are fed and settled, start their movies and then proceed to the other area of the house to view your own films.
Get Out!
There are two ways to turn an outing into ‘me’ time: if you have younger children, take everyone to a kid-friendly movie. Sure, they are right by your side, but with the entire theater silent and a highly engaging film tailored to little ones, you will hardly notice they are there—which gives you a break from ‘summer mommy drain’ for a few hours.
If you have older children who can stay home by themselves, the neighborhood store is your knight in shining armor. Find something that is needed in the home—anything—and announce to the teens that you are making a quick trip to the store to buy it. Not only does this help you get away for a little while, but walking around in the store also helps to relieve tension and stress to help refresh you for going back home.
Summer vacation only lasts two to three months, but for moms it can seem like forever. When you are feeling an urgent need for time to yourself during the summer months, take a deep breath, try one of the tips above, and keep in mind that before you know it, you will be packing lunches and seeing them off to school again.
What are you doing to get in your mom me time?
Makeba Giles is Founder, Writer, and Creative Director of MELISASource.com, an inspirational blog that gives readers life, culture, and current events…the positive way. She is also a married mother of four very busy children ranging in age from college student to kindergarten. Makeba uses her presence in social media to share her sincere love for life and all things inspirational. A self-proclaimed “down-home girl” who does pretty much everything in heels, she is (as she calls herself) “A little bit country, and a little bit rock-n-roll”. A woman of many hats, she is oftentimes forced to be a true Jack of All Trades; and she does her very best to master them all (or at the very least be somewhat good at them). You can find Makeba on her blog, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Makeba Giles
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