Taking a Moment to Find Yourself

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.

Once upon a time I married a wonderful man and we had two baby boys.  Life was wonderful but things seemed to become mundane after a while.  I would wake up in the mornings, get the boys ready for daycare, rush off to defend my country for the day, pick up the boys, make dinner, get everyone fed, bathed and try to squeeze in family time before going to bed only to get up to start it over the next day.  And if the world needed taken care of in between, I felt that was my job as well.  Weekends were spent trying to make up for the valuable lost time and the guilt I had because I wasn't able to do the things I wanted with my family throughout the week.  Even when I left the military to stay home with the kids, I still found myself in to the routine of day-to-day functions.

One day my husband asked me why I was always so tired or why I seemed to be getting grumpier.  Somewhere in there I lost something.  What was it again?  Oh yeah, now I remember!  It was ME!    I did not realize any of this until I snapped at one of the boys one day and I saw the heartbreak in his eyes.  After tons of love and cuddles and lots of apologies, I had to sit down and think what I was missing in my life.  I finally figured it out.  I did everything for everyone else but I did nothing for myself.  Just a small amount of time to gather my thoughts or to treat myself to something nice.  I sat down one evening and wrote some things down that I planned to start doing to take care of me.  After I started taking time and doing some of the things that I had promised I would start doing for myself,  my husband and I found that the harmony around the house just seemed to fall into place.  I tackled everyday life with a new zest, because I was more refreshed and ready to do so.


What can you do to get back some of your ME time?

• Sometimes you just need let go of the feeling that you have to be the one to take care of everything.  Learn to ask trusted friends and family members to step in on occasion to watch the kids.  This is a great time to go on a nice quiet walk or to take care of some quick errands without dragging unwilling kiddos along.
• Set a side 30 minutes to a hour for bath time every night.  Run a tub full of steamy, hot, water filled with your favorite fragrance or bubble bath, light some candles and relax.
• Set up a time where you and your friends or other moms can get together without the kids or try to set up a whole weekend away together.
• Wake up earlier.  This gives you time to get your thoughts together for the day.  You can grab a cup of coffee or tea and watch the sun rise.
• When possible plan a weekend getaway once a year alone.  You can call this your  ME Retreat. It  is a great time to enjoy the quiet or to just get caught up on books or movies.
• Dole out some of the household chores to the kids (age appropriate of course).  Giving them something to do around the house not only helps you, but teaches them responsibilities as well. 

 
Whatever you find that you can do to bring the ME back to you is something that will benefit you and your whole family.  When you take care of yourself, you will be more able to take care of those around you.




Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.