If You Give A Mom a Minute… {How to Take Advantage of Those Little Moments Alone}
Have you ever found yourself with a minute to spare for yourself after a long day of work, whether it’s a day spent cleaning up finger paint and making bite size snacks or clocking in for someone else, and you check the time and an hour has already passed by? In this world of never-ending to-do lists, food to be made, and bills to be paid it seems like there is hardly any time for a mama to breathe, yet when the time IS found it’s stretched thin … quite literally.
There have been plenty of instances where I have laid in bed and said I deserve a little uninterrupted screen time, and I blink and now it’s 2 a.m. and the chick on TikTok is questioning my scrolling time. What a slap in the face! But, she’s right. I had been scrolling endlessly trying to subconsciously escape my demanding day job and enter into a portal of easy peasy lemon squeezy. No fuss. No hassle. Just simple. Is it though? There’s no secret that too much screen time leads to depression, impaired sleep, worsened mental health, and the list goes on. Keeping that in mind, I try to read books. Sometimes a book is so good that I get so lost in it that my marriage is sometimes affected. “Just one more page honey” or “I just need to get to the end of this chapter,” I say. Having so little alone time on a regular basis in effect makes finally getting it feel like an addiction.
So, after too many reminders from TikTok Girl and feeling bad about curling up with a good book for too long, I had to make a change. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Find a balance. No one should have to fight to find time alone. Not even you, Mama, who feels like this particular stage in parenting will never end. I’ve taken shelter in the bathroom to consume a bite of lunch just to cherish a second without having to chase and entertain little ones. I see you. But that doesn’t have to be the end of it all. Try creating a ritual, habit, or routine that you can stick to and your family can adjust to. Getting up early for a run or doing a workout during nap time may be more feasible than going to a regularly scheduled fitness class.
Get your family on board. You might find yourself fighting for scraps of time because of lack of boundaries and/or communication. They may not be the Saintsations but our families are some of our biggest cheerleaders. Try having a chat with them and let them know your intentions and see where it goes.
Stay consistent. Just as I climbed in bed and grabbed my phone every night as a release, whatever new habit that’s created should be just as regular. Start small and keep track of your progress.
Our childhoods are much different than our children’s. Soak in the moments together, but don’t let those fingers and toes get too wrinkly! Carve out some time for yourself. Also, our day jobs have their place in their own dimension. Keep work stress at work and focus on winding down outside of the workplace. Keep in mind that if you give a mama a minute, she’ll take that minute and then some … but not too much. She deserves it.
