Summer Time! Summer Time!
Memorial Day is a time to reflect and be grateful to all the people who have served in the military to protect our country in the US. It is also the symbolic start to summer, even though summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21st. And for some of us it means that school is out for summer and kids are celebrating everywhere!
Yet this can be one of the most stressful times for moms: your kids’ schedules have changed; each week is different; some kids are at home; some kids are at camp (which has a later start time or only run for a half day); some kids stay up later; the list goes on and on. There is a lot of change happening all at once and the routine you have known for the past 9 months gets thrown out the window!
For many of us, it means changing your work schedule, taking calls from the car as you run out to pick your little one up, interruptions to your day, wanting to spend more time with your kids but you can’t until your set vacation time, not wanting to disappoint your kid when they want to go on an adventure day, reducing or eliminating your “me time”.
For the past few months, I have been sharing ideas about the importance of creating routines, setting aside non-negotiable time that is just for you and the value of putting yourself at the top of your priority list. Now is the time to put those commitments into action.
I’m going to share with you a few steps that you can take to be sure you take care of yourself.
Step 1. Block off 30 minutes today, as this is going to take a little bit of your undivided attention.
Step 2. Take the time to look at the new schedule that your kids will have, week by week. If you are a pen-and-paper-kind-of-gal print off a hard copy calendar and handwrite your kids’ schedules for each day. Having it laid out in black and white allows you to see each week clearly.
Step 3. Input their schedule into your calendar on your phone and take notice if any of your non-negotiable time is double-booked with your child’s new schedule. If it is, before you hit the Delete button (because that is our natural instinct), see if you are able to move it to a different time in the day that works or to a different day. Usually camps or summer sports start later than school, so you could move your non-negotiable time to a little earlier in the morning.
Step 4. Get support. If you don’t have support at home and your kids are home during the day, then I highly recommend getting some help. There are plenty of college kids who are home or highschool kids who are ready to earn a buck. You may only need them for a few hours in the day, but I promise you, it will be worth every penny! Or another option is to create a carpool with other parents who are driving to the same place. This way you only have to drive some of the time and have fewer interruptions to your day.
Step 5. Enjoy your “me time”. Just because the kids are home a little more does not mean that the guilt needs to creep in when you take time for yourself. Remember, you are a better mom when you take care of yourself first. When you fulfill your own desires, then you have more to give to your loved ones and allows you to be more present.
Making these small but crucial changes to your routines can make all the difference in how you experience the summer. Summer is too short to stress out so get out there and enjoy it!