It seems like lately my social media feeds are covered in memes and humorous articles about moms who just need a break. Somedays it feels like overkill, but it's a real issue that many moms feel concerned about. When you spend all of your time catering to young kids who don't seem thankful or appreciative, it can wear on a person mentally.
The most important thing for a mom's sanity is "me time." We all need some time to ourselves every day, where we are not being nagged or yelled at by our families. The hard part is finding the time, or figuring out what we have the energy to do every day to get time to ourselves. There are a few things that moms can do to escape reality for a little bit and connect with ourselves.
Meditate
Meditation is what many people do to try and connect with their inner thoughts and find peace in a hectic environment. Meditation looks different to everyone. Some people like to pull out their bibles and pray, others like to meditate to balance their chakras, and some people like to do a form of yoga to settle their minds.
Take a Bath
Every night, grab a glass of wine, lock the bathroom door and take a nice long bath. It doesn't matter if you have to wait until after bedtime, it will still be nice to unwind after a long day. Grab your favorite bath bomb, or bubble bath and make a thing out of it. Something about the steam and bubbles can make you feel very relaxed for once.
Exercise
Before becoming a mother, I used to have to convince myself for hours to workout. Now that I have an insane 2 year old son, I basically rush out the door to the gym after he goes to bed. It can be so relaxing to put in my headphones and hit the gym after a long day. This is time that I set aside for both my physical and mental wellbeing, and I know many moms can relate.
Read a Book
Escaping the real world for a little bit every day while reading a great novel can be addicting. This is literally a way to escape to another world for many people. If I weren't a college student as well, I would definitely read as many books as I could. The only problem with this is that some people (myself included) get so wrapped up in a great read that it's hard to put it down to get a decent night's sleep.
Have a Drink
I usually only do this on the weekends, but I love to pour myself a tall drink after a long day. Some people like wine, some people like beer, and some people like myself like a nice big cocktail. Not only does it take some of the edge off, but it puts me right to sleep every time I have one. Just be careful not to go overboard with this one, there is nothing relaxing about an alcohol addiction.
It doesn't matter what you prefer to do to wind down after taking care of your mini-army, you do what you got to do. Reach out to fellow mamas and make a night of it. Taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of your children, and that's a fact. You can't pour from an empty cup, so us moms have to make sure we fill ourselves up from time to time.
