Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Me. Me. Me.



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.


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me (center) and my peeps circa 2007


It is a mommy mantra: I have no time for myself! We've all said it. We've all, at one point or another, fallen into the mommy abyss of play dates, music classes, sports, homework and volunteering at school. It is all for a good cause, but makes it much harder to squeeze in any portion of the day for "me time." And just as the kids heads' hit the pillow, there stands the hubs ready for "his" time. 

I have the same complaint as most: there are simply not enough hours in the day to accomplish all that falls on my plate. I do not dispute the veracity of that statement. Often there truly is not enough time. But it is during those times that I need me time even more. 

My solution is simple: I schedule it. 

If it is on my calendar I will do it. If it is not on my calendar something else will be. 

Exercise 
Since my children were two years old I have scheduled a pilates class 2 times per week. Every week. It is on the calendar and if I do not make my scheduled class I lose money {amazing incentive}. I have kept with this schedule now for almost six years. The days of the week have changed to accomodate my duo's school schedule. The time has changed as well. And summer breaks are a fact of life. It is a fluid schedule but it remains the one component I will not yield to the craziness of my life.

Friends
I also schedule lunches with friends on a consistent basis. This was not always the case. I remember yearning for a lunch with someone who did not request a PB&J. But now that kids are school-aged, I can again enjoy the company of friends without our strollers in tow. I cherish those moments and find the best way to ensure they occur regularly is to simply put it on the calendar far in advance. My good friend, Mel, and I used to have a set monthly lunch outing. We looked forward to it each month and both worked hard to protect that time.

I also have a monthly book club. It is the first Wednesday of every month {yippee -- that's tonight!}. Scheduling a girls' night out rarely happens, but setting a monthly date for a girls' night makes it much more probable. I don't make it every month because I generally will not hire a sitter if the hubs in out of town that night. But otherwise, I will feed my family and put my kids to bed and skip {literally} out of the house with a bottle of wine. We schedule the book club later in the evening so we can take care of our families' needs and then enjoy the time together. That's what works for us and it has most certainly required constant tweaking to make it work consistently for a group. But it's worth it.

Faith
Yes, scheduled as well. I have a bible study I attend regularly because it is on my calendar. I keep that  morning of the week free from other obligations and cherish those hours spent in God's word. It nourishes me in a way nothing else does. I know I need it. Unfortunately, during the weeks or months I do not have a regularly scheduled study, I find I am not as disciplined about spending the time. 

If it's not on the calendar it simply may or may not make the cut in the daily race.

I do not schedule time to pay bills. Or do the laundry. Or work in the yard. I do not need to schedule grocery store trips. Or time to do the dishes.

Those things seem to find a way into my day whether or not I "make" time for them. Amazing how that works. 

The only things I'm obsessive about scheduling is time for "me". Time away from the demands of my mommy world. 

Time for myself. 

Me. Me. Me.


How do you ensure you have time for yourself in the midst of the craziness that is life?

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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.

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