Awhile back I read these words written by Heloise Cruz in 1965:
“Mothers and wives have hard lives, but it needn’t be so. Know what I think is the matter? We don’t ever relax. We work too hard….
…You think you owe it to your husband and children, but you owe something to yourself, too….
…How’s about settling for just one hour for yourself once in awhile? It might make a new woman of you….
…If you do nothing but prop your feet up in a chair and stare at the ceiling…at least do that.
Remember, wives and mothers are irreplaceable!”
Like I said, those words were written in 1965…over 60 years ago…but are still relevant today…maybe even more so.
Monday I went to the grocery store, dollar store and filled the car up with gas. I drove the kids to school and picked them up. I drove to another city to attend physical therapy and speech therapy with my mom after meeting another blogger to give her a pile of fabric for an upcoming class. I made 16 quilt blocks and dinner. I washed the dog, the kids, and 3 loads of laundry. I listened to one child practice the piano and helped another practice the violin and complete two pages of math homework. I talked with my grandma and brother, as well as sending texts, emails, and messages to others. Then I wrapped it all up by putting together 4 bins of yard sale items for this weekend before sleeping in my sick 4 year olds bedroom where we could both cough all night without disturbing the rest of the house.
And..that is an average day.
I’d like to say it was a particularly busy day that I chose to describe…but it wasn’t…Monday was business as usual.
I’m sure you can believe it….because I have no doubt your days are much like mine.
No one has cornered the market on being busy (although someone like to claim they have).
Today I was helping one with homework while cooking dinner as the phone was ringing and someone was at the door for me.
Sound familiar? (I’m sure it does.)
I was just talking to my dad and he pointed out that I sounded terrible…well, I have a cold I said….well, I’m not surprised he said…you need to slow down and get some sleep he said…I know I said.
So how do we do that?
How do we slow down and carve out that hour for ourselves…if only to sit in a chair and “stare at the ceiling”?
I don’t have an answer to that.
But it’s on my mind…maybe because it’s spring, maybe because I’m getting older, maybe because I’m just tired…but it is on my mind…and I think for all of our sakes we need to figure out how to relax….because as I’m finding out Heloise was right, “mothers are irreplaceable”.
-liZ
First you need to schedule time for yourself. Then you need to honor that schedule. It’s so easy to put off taking care of yourself. There’s always “tomorrow”.
And, speaking of tomorrow, if I didn’t have to work I’d totally crash your class at Snap! I have a girlfriend in town for Snap and told her to ambush your class if she had time. So if this lovely blonde starts hugging you, I sent her. I told her you guys were funny!
Oh Lady. This is so true. Why is it so hard??
My husband can stare out the window at birds in the morning while drinking his coffee, while I am running around like a crazy person getting everyone where they need to go. Not that I begrudge him that. I actually admire his ability to know what he needs. After everyone is where they should be, I could theoretically sit for a minute.
I guess I think I will lose my momentum, and not be able to accomplish what I need to if I do that.
It is so important though.
I hope you get to recharge, and I will try my best to do the same.
Ahhh! !! Slowing down. Sooooo hard. I keep trying. Feel guilty way to often for being too busy and not making the most of time with kids whem little like they are. But my house always looks fallen apart if I take a few hours to sit outside while the kids play. Thankfully the husband isn’t afraid of dishes and cleans when he gets home from work on those days. But then I feel guilty about that too. …