SIT DOWN

I need to sit down. Seriously - just sit down and do NOTHING. I don't even know if I know how to do that anymore. I feel like I spend every hour of every day doing stuff. Working. Preparing for work. Feeding kids. Folding clothes. Cleaning the house. Blah, blah, blah.

I haven't done a very good job following the "15 minutes for yourself every day rule." I think that I'm falling back into the illusion of the empty to do list. I feel like if I can JUST get x, y and z done then I can sit down. But the list is ever-regenerating. There is ALWAYS more to do.

So, I will sit down. Tonight. Even if it's not for long.

Alone

New rule. Every mother should spend at least 15 minutes alone every day. Time in the shower does NOT count (although, let's be real...when's the last time that I've been able to take a shower without the door open and eat least one child sticking their head under the shower curtain? If I count the 7 months that I was pregnant with my first, it's been around 4 years and counting...)

Seriously. Alone time is essential. Think about it - all day, we're surrounded by people - most often people (big and small) who need something from us. Our time. Our attention. Our expertise. Our care. Our opinion. Our clean white shirt to wipe food on - you get the picture. What if we took just a tiny fraction of each day and dedicated it to being alone? To recapture our sanity and sense of humanity if only for a moment?

Imagine the peace it could bring to the world! Seriously - if ALL the mothers around the world (OK, to be real this may only apply to they super-hyphy type A mothers that tend to populate 99.7% of the United States since the rest of the world seems to have a better grip on the realities of motherhood than we do) - took just 15 minutes a day to breathe. Take a walk around the block. Drink a quiet cup of tea. Write in your journal (or blog - physician, heal thyself...). Cat nap. Watch a 30 minute show on the DVR while fast forwarding through commercials (ok, that would technically be about 22 minutes, but you get the picture).

If we could all just take a little bit of time to reclaim ourselves - do things that ONLY we enjoy, ONLY for us. We could come back to our children, our jobs, our partners, our LIVES more refreshed. More whole. Just a tiny bit more of who we were before kids. Not the bad parts (OK, maybe even some of the bad parts if that makes you feel better. Who am I to judge?)

It is NOT selfish. It is a NECESSITY! It is your RIGHT as a mother to keep a part of you that's reserved only for you. We give so much to everyone, everyday - we can at least claim 15 minutes for ourselves.

So I, The BadAssMama, do solemnly decree that this word has become law across the land. Carry on, my sisters. Go forth and take 15 minutes for yourself. Let today be the first day of your NEW life.

I just did...and I gotta say, it feels pretty nice.

Rock on, BadAssMamas...rock on

Having it all?

I haven't written a blog post in over a month. Oh, how I've missed the opportunity to capture my thoughts on the screen. Semi-filtered. Always real.

I'm now beginning to wonder how much is TOO much. My plate is full. VERY full. But, as I mentioned last time, it's full of things that I enjoy. Right now, in addition to my regular life of work, babies, husband (lather, rinse, repeat) I'm training for a marathon and running a jewelry business. I'm enjoying both. Immensely, actually. I enjoy my long training runs. For 2+ hours, I can't take care of anyone else. I listen to music. I talk to myself. I sing to myself. It's AWESOME.

It's just that EVERYTHING takes time. I wonder...how much is too much? Should I cut some of these things out of my life so that I have more time to just sit still and be, or should I continue to do them because I enjoy them and they make me who I am?


So...I think I'll keep trying to do it all AND make sure to sometimes just sit and do nothing...let's see how that works : )