Tips on Tuesday: Take Time for You

I hope everyone had a great couple of weeks. Some of you noticed that I didn't end up posting a Tips on Tuesday post last week. I thought about trying to back-post later in the week, but chose not to. I decided to take time for me (and my family). We had a great week--nothing bad happened--but it was busy. Rebekah had some closure to a class she's been in and had to say goodbye to some friends but we also started a new chapter and she is meeting new friends.

Andrew started looking at high schools. While this is still a year and a half away, we got some great advice from parents who have been down this road before. We have a choice of  high schools. Each one has a different area of emphasis and there have been a lot of open houses going on. My head is spinning with course offerings, electives and Honors vs. AP vs. Duel-enrollment classes. In some ways, I hate the pressure to pick the 'right' high school when most kids don't know what they want to be when they grow up. In other ways, I'm glad we can find a good fit for him and his goals, aspirations and strengths.

And Nathan has been plodding along and trying to finish up some therapy. He has been in Vision Therapy since October. If all goes well, next week will be his last appointment. It will free 20-30 minutes a day of time that we won't have to be doing vision exercises. (I'm probably more excited than he is!)

In the midst of all the family shenanigans, I had the chance to go out with friends last week. One set of friends I haven't seen for almost 6 months. It was a wonderful time of eating too much, talking too much and laughing too much. It was a great time and I really needed a little break with some girls. I had a working meeting one night (but we ate at a restaurant so I considered it a night out for me) and I had the chance to start scrap booking again. I haven't been able to muster the time or energy for a year and when I sat down with my albums, I realized how much I really miss taking pictures and creating pages for my children, grand-children and hopefully great-grandchildren to enjoy.

And all of the back-story brings me to my tip for today. Take Time For You! Especially if you're a mom. I find moms to be notorious for putting everything and everyone in front of themselves. This comes down to time, money, food, etc. We do it for our spouse, our kids, our friends--but we don't end up doing special things for ourselves. So I encourage you to take time--right now!!--and call a friend you haven't talked to in a while. Or make a date with your spouse or a friend to go out. Even if you go grab a $1 pop at McDonald's, make time to spend together face to face. Rediscover a hobby or take a little time to watch a show on TV that's just for you. I can't tell you how much better my crazy week has gone because I took some time last week to recharge.

I always realize after the fact that I'm a better wife/mother/friend/daughter/sister after I take time out for me. Yet, I don't always prioritize my life to give myself the time that I need to take a break. I've decided I need to keep giving myself some time and have scheduled some future events to give me a little break. It helps that I have a supportive husband (who practically threw me out the door the other night so I'd go and take a break), but even if you don't have that support at home, I know it's possible to make it work. It might be a little more difficult to plan, but the results are that much sweeter.


I challenge you to make time for yourself. Schedule it into your calendar...in ink...and stick to it. I think you'll like the results.