First Day of School…Now What? Take Time for YOU!
So, you made it through the morning and the kids are in school... Now What?
Today was another exciting day for us as grandparents! We had the wonderful privilege of seeing both of our grandsons head back to school for their first day of Kindergarten. Let me say, they were so excited! My husband said jokingly, the next announcement you will hear is "Grandparents, It's time to leave the building!" What fun watching your grandchildren grow and develop!
But, what about the mom that is now having a meltdown because all her children are in school and she really doesn't know what to do next? Today, after the excitement of the start of a new school year, my husband and I stopped at our local store to buy groceries. We bumped in to a friend and we started chatting. I could tell she was on the verge of tears and I asked her what was wrong. "I don't know what to do...both my children are in school. Here I am shopping to get food to greet them when they come home today. It's just hard."
Being a mom myself, I do remember those days. I asked her what she was going to do for HERSELF today! I could tell by her expression, no clue. "What? Me? Have time for myself?" I asked her, "What would you do if you could go back before children and just take the day for yourself?" As she thought about it, she said "I love to go shopping!" We continued going over ideas and activities she could do today... I mentioned several:
- Take a bubble bath with NO interruptions
- Go to the park (early in day still...it gets over 100 degrees here now)
- Go to the mall and shop for YOU
- Get a manicure/pedicure
- Have lunch with a friend
- OR have lunch by yourself and order whatever YOU want
You get the picture... I just wanted her to think about herself today. We talked about how as moms, we tend to put ourselves last. She continued to tell me about how she was a constant worrier and hadn't been able to drop any weight and didn't take time for herself. I asked her if she had ever heard of the Jesus Calling book/devotional. She hadn't. I told her a brief story about how we read this daily and have given each of our children a book for their family. It helps us focus on today and what we can do today to make a difference. I mentioned she could go to Barnes and Nobles or any bookstore. Then, I said, "You could even go shopping online on Amazon and get your book today!" That was the magic button for her! You should have seen her eyes light up! Reminded me of the days when I taught school and would see the light bulb go off when they finally got the concept I was teaching.
She said "I am going home to go shopping! It was meant for us to meet today!" I totally believe that too. Never a co-incidence. I call them God-instances. May you all have a wonderful first day of finding you again as you balance the lifestyle of parenting without losing the YOU inside!
Have you picked up my 20 healthy snack ideas yet, that won't break the bank and take you less than 10 minutes to create and help you trim down that waistline and curb your sugar cravings? If you haven't, you can get it here!
