Over the weekend I got to go off on a girls trip with my sisters to San Francisco. My littlest one has his first birthday next week and the longest I'd ever left him was a few hours, so I was a little worried about how it would go, but he was fabulous for his dad and I had a blast.
I slept, ate, and worked out to my hearts content... all weekend long... and came home today full of energy and ready to be back home with my three little cuties (and my husband of course).
My break reminded me how important it is to take time to recharge as a parent. Recharge means to reenergize, revive, or renew.
It also made me think of all of the other wonderful parents out there that I know (like you!) that don't get to have enough breaks from the craziness of parenting... and it made me wonder...
How do you recharge day to day as a parent?? How do you work together with your partner or spouse to make sure that you both get opportunities to recharge?
When I used to train teachers in crisis management we spent a portion of our training discussing how we detached from our work... both while we were at work, when we were in a crisis, and when we were away from work.
Parents who recharge are able to deal with tough situations in a more effective way. They stay more calm and in control.
During the average day when things are going crazy some of the ways I recharge are...
- actually sitting down and eating something healthy with my kids
- washing the dishes (this is totally calming to me... no clue why)
- bundling the kids up and going off on a run/walk... like I've mentioned before, changing the scenery and exercising makes a difference in changing our mood and works as a quick restart button for me
- sending everyone off to quiet playtime (me included)
- doing crafts together as a family (bookmaking is a simple favorite activity that calms us all down and gets us focused on something fun and useful)
- heading out to the backyard to play in the dirt (add in some water and the kids will keep themselves occupied for an hour while I lounge in a chair and watch and relax)
- checking Instagram (Undoubtedly a friend has posted something funny and it helps lighten the mood. Social Media has saved me as a mom. I don't feel like an island and one happy picture can change my attitude for the rest of the day)
- reading something spiritual or uplifting
- eating chocolate
- thinking of something kind we can do for someone else and then doing it right then!
(below is me and the kiddos on our family run... to me this is relaxing...
to others it might be not be 🙂 find what works for you)
I recharge by doing some breathing techniques. I learned them at Art of Living workshop.
Thank you so much for sharing this, I feel so guilty about sitting down even for 5 minutes! But it's fantastic to know that other mum's do it. Being a stay at home mum is a 24 hour job, and it's unfortunate that no one really gets that except for other mums.
I'll try out some of your suggestions when I'm feeling stressed, at the moment breastfeeding calms me a lot, but it does get tiring after doing it every 2 hours day and night!
I definitely need to recharge. Some great ideas. I am a part-time uni student and am looking forward to the 14th of November, when I will have everything completed for the semester. I will definitely be doing a revisit of a few things including spending time recharging