What does your morning look like? Mine looks something like this: Get up. Let the dog out. Get the bottle ready. Get dressed. Dress Boy #1. Dress Boy #2. Prepare breakfast for #1. Prepare breakfast for #2. Dish out breakfast for the dog. Clean up #1 after his breakfast. Feed #2. Scarf down my own breakfast. Clean up #2. Give #2 his bottle. Change #1's diaper. Get #1's shoes. Put them on. Get #2's hat. Put it on. Put #1 and #2 in stroller. Put #2's hat back on. Start to go for a walk. Go back into the house to get #1's car. Put #2's hat back on. Resume walk. Clean up after the dog. Put #2's hat back on. Get home. Get #2's second bottle. Change #2's diaper. Get #1's morning drink and snack. Again get #1's shoes and put them on. Put #2 in his car seat. Put #1 in his car seat. Go back in the house to get #1's blankie. Finally we are ready to leave. And it is only 10 in the morning.
As a mother of small children, it is far too easy to lose sight of yourself in the midst of all that is demanded of you. From the moment they wake up to the time they go to sleep, my youngters depend on me for EVERYTHING. Food. Drink. Cleanliness. Clothing. Entertainment. Safety. Toys. Socialization. Love. As a result, there are few, if any, moments in the day that can be claimed as my own. What time I do have comes at the end of the day, at which point I'm usually so spent that the only activity I can muster comes in the form of laying prone on the couch in front of the TV.
As comforting as watching the boob tube might be, this mind-numbing pasttime is not what I need. No, I need something else. A hobby, if you will. Something that I do intentionally because of the enjoyment it gives me and also because in so doing I feel a little bit more like me. By choosing to participate in this pasttime I am reminded that although a huge part of my identity comes from my role as a mother, it is not the only part. I have interests outside of my children. I've found that this is not only healthy, but necessary if I am to be the type of mom I want to be.
And so I run. And I bike. And I swim. I train for marathons. And triathlons. I set goals for myself that are completely outside the realm of motherhood, selfish goals that benefit me and me only. I carve out time each day to work toward these physical objectives of mine. These blocks of exercise are my happy places, my times of zen when I am able to reconnect with Sara the woman, not Sara the mother. And in doing so I can return to my role as mother, more confident in my ability to handle what the day throws at me, more willing to pour myself out
now that I have been filled up in this way.
So I didn't give you a complete picture of what my morning looks like. All that stuff happens, yes. What I failed to mention is that after waking up I work out. Then, when I am taken care of, I get on with the business of being a mother.
As a mother of small children, it is far too easy to lose sight of yourself in the midst of all that is demanded of you. From the moment they wake up to the time they go to sleep, my youngters depend on me for EVERYTHING. Food. Drink. Cleanliness. Clothing. Entertainment. Safety. Toys. Socialization. Love. As a result, there are few, if any, moments in the day that can be claimed as my own. What time I do have comes at the end of the day, at which point I'm usually so spent that the only activity I can muster comes in the form of laying prone on the couch in front of the TV.
As comforting as watching the boob tube might be, this mind-numbing pasttime is not what I need. No, I need something else. A hobby, if you will. Something that I do intentionally because of the enjoyment it gives me and also because in so doing I feel a little bit more like me. By choosing to participate in this pasttime I am reminded that although a huge part of my identity comes from my role as a mother, it is not the only part. I have interests outside of my children. I've found that this is not only healthy, but necessary if I am to be the type of mom I want to be.
And so I run. And I bike. And I swim. I train for marathons. And triathlons. I set goals for myself that are completely outside the realm of motherhood, selfish goals that benefit me and me only. I carve out time each day to work toward these physical objectives of mine. These blocks of exercise are my happy places, my times of zen when I am able to reconnect with Sara the woman, not Sara the mother. And in doing so I can return to my role as mother, more confident in my ability to handle what the day throws at me, more willing to pour myself out
now that I have been filled up in this way.
So I didn't give you a complete picture of what my morning looks like. All that stuff happens, yes. What I failed to mention is that after waking up I work out. Then, when I am taken care of, I get on with the business of being a mother.
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