This is what I do for fun. For 2 hours, every week, I swing, climb and hang from aerial silks!
It's a killer workout, yes and it also feeds my very soul. I use my strength, my breath and my artistry. But mostly I do it because for those 2 hours I don't think of anything else. When I am 40 feet in the air, wrapping myself in knots and trying to look pretty doing it, I don't think of Pascal, I don't think about potty training, I don't think about the laundry or the grocery list. I am in the NOW like nobody's business.
The reason I'm sharing this isn't because it's cool (okay…a little bit) but because I didn't get My Thing on until Pascal was 5 and I wish someone had told me this when he was 2.
It's okay to have Your Own Thing. It's okay to take time for yourself. It's not selfish, it's SELF CARE. And the great mystery of childhood is that children don't do what you say, children do what you do. When you take time for yourself, you are teaching your child that it's okay for HER to take time for herself.
When you say, "Go play" so you can finish your novel…you are teaching that reading can be so fun, it's all you want to do. You are modeling good reading habits.
When you go to the gym…you are teaching your child that taking care of her body comes first.
When you go out with the girls…you are teaching the value of friendship.
I know this message is not new but I'm hoping it encourages you to Get Your Own Thing. Something that absorbs you entirely. Those 2 hours a week leave my muscles aching but my soul is refreshed. I've pushed the reset button on my internal odometer and I'M A BETTER MOM because of it.
Go Get Your Own Thing!!! And if you wanna come back and share it, that'd be awesome.
Rock on, Mamas!
Jamie Glowacki resides in Providence, RI with her son Pascal and is the author of Oh Crap Potty Training digital book and blog.
