A Mother's Struggle

One of the hardest things for me personally, is making sure I get ME time. My focus is my family; Making sure they are all taken care of. And being a stay at home mom, well that's really my entire life. My days don't stop. It's a 24/7 gig. My 1 1/2 year old is still up throughout the night, so it really is never ending. 

Recently, I began taking hot yoga classes. So far, I'm loving it. I've only done evening classes. 1 landing me home shortly after 8, the others shortly after 9. The later classes work because then my husband is home with the girls; downside is I'm missing bedtime. 

B goes to bed at 8, and is usually snoring within minutes. H usually goes to bed around then as well, but she's still running on her "I'm the baby so I'm the boss" schedule so, it's sometimes a little earlier or later. 

I can't help but feel guilty that I'm missing putting my girls to bed. I still tuck them in immediately when I get home, and more times than not, miss H is waiting for me too settle her into bed. But it's hard. 

Extra guilt stems from the fact that after my second class (they weren't back to back nights) B told me that I'm never home at night. And guilt through the roof. 

I think too often it's easy to feel guilt when something is taking you from your children, but the real challenge is knowing that it doesn't make you a bad parent, it makes you better because you are happier with you.

I'm doing my best to come to terms with Me time. It's okay! I can't take care of my family if I'm not taking care of myself first. I'm important too. And whether it's a 30 minute walk outside, or a couple hour trip to town for yoga, or a girls night out with my friends, it's okay! My children know I love them. They know if I miss bedtime, I'll see their pretty little faces bright and early in the morning. 

So my advice to share is to not hesitate to do something without your kids. Maybe find a new passion. Start a class at the gym. Take a class at a local college or university. Go for dinner with a friend. Do anything that makes you feel happy and better about yourself and let go of the guilt that surrounds you from stepping away for a short while from your family. It's okay!