Sit down, put your feet up, put your head back, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and blow out hard allowing your body to deflate. Take one minute, five, twenty if your lucky. Give yourself a break, the laundry, dishes, , cleaning, meals, and the humans that rely on you are not going anywhere. Family means, no silence, no space, and that is a gift. Just one minute, before you hear, “mom” or “honey, where is my…” It’s okay, it will get done. The world will not stop spinning because you sit down for you.
Pampering yourself doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune on self care. Slap some mayo in your hair, honey and baking soda paste on your face, soak your feet in a vat of water and blue mouthwash . Lay outside and look at the stars, sunset, sunrise. Take the kids for a walk , with a bucket and get them to collect treasures. Bring a book and stop at the park. You don’t have to run all the time. Walk, saunter, crawl, even lay, kids need that too. Making shadow puppets on the wall, get them to act out their favourite book, dress up in costumes, let them put make up on you. Simplify, a dollar store magnifying glass and a net, can buy you thirty minutes in your own house or yard. Let them paint rocks, vegetables , their own bodies and stamp paper.
No, it’s not easy, for anyone, even without kids it’s not. Two days off a week never seems to be enough. So what, you didn’t get it all done, it can wait. You know, you are not a slob, you are not lazy. You are tired, my kids are grown, I know when they are tired. I see my husband and know when he’s tired, you need to recognize it in yourself, but more important, do something about it. Learn to stop, sit down, put your feet up… you know the drill, sit down for you.
Momma Wouldn't Say 