Time For Mommy!

Time for Mommy! Is this a foreign phrase in your house? As a parent you give, give, give then turn around and give some more! I’m sure you have heard the “professionals” say, “make sure you take time for yourself”. But is this really possible? Will you be a better mommy or daddy if you take time for yourself? And where in the world is this extra time supposed to come from?!?!
Well, today I took an hour to myself! My ex had given me a gift certificate for a one hour massage at my chiropractor’s office. He gave it to me for Valentines Day over a year ago. I’m not even sure why! Perhaps it was out of obligation. Maybe he was hoping to win Husband of the Year award! Kind of an ironic thought since the rest of our marriage was failing miserably. So I’ve had this certificate sitting around my house for over a year. A little piece of paper; yet every time I came across it an array of emotions rushed through me. The paper has moved from the card it came in, to my nightstand, to my computer desk, to my coupon drawer, back to my computer desk…and finally into my purse and into the hands of the chiropractor’s receptionist!
So what was keeping me from using it? A small part of me didn’t want to use it just because of who gave it to me, but the bigger reason it’s been shuffled around my house…TIME! I am raising four kids on my own; time is not something in over abundance around here! How can I possibly feel good about taking an hour to pamper myself when the dishes need done and laundry is stacked to the ceiling and the kids need me to spend time with them! The answer: I didn’t feel right about it! In fact, the certificate had expired in February so I had the perfect excuse to just throw it away, but my mom talked me into setting up an appointment anyway. She was sure they would still take the certificate since it was paid for and sure enough, they had no problem with letting me use it.
Finally, I got my mommy time! For a whole hour, I laid there and tried hard not to think about anything but relaxing and enoying my massage. Was it worth it? Am I a better parent today then I was before I took some time to myself? Well, my knees didn’t appreciate the massage and have been hurting worse than they were before, I was itchy and irritable the rest of the day from the oils (I didn’t exactly have time to squeeze in a shower!) and the laundry pile only grew larger. I’m thinking, next time I want some “me” time, I will go get a cup of coffee with a friend…oh wait! I can't stand coffee!