Each day begins with a smile (and a diaper change and feeding) and off we go from thing to thing. No more are the days when AML jr would sleep for 3-4 hours at a time and I would manage to pack an eight hour day into half the time. I'm up, she's up, and we go from activity to activity and then all of a sudden it's 6:30pm, dinnertime, spa time (AML jr appreciates her bath time titled spa time, and she likes foot rubs, so it does seem appropriate to call it as such) and she's hopefully in bed by 9:30pm. Then my day continues...until, well, now...or until my brain shut offs for the evening, which is no easy feat. I'm not complaining, we all do what we have to do and I am incredibly blessed in so many ways. I think parent or not, we can often be amazed at how much we can get done successfully on a daily basis. However, rarely do we take the time to think about such accomplishments because, well, who has the time?!
This one goes out to you ladies, and you know who you are. You work your tushes off by day, and by night take care of your man, your home, your pet, etc. Oh, and of course, there are the nights you bring your work home just to keep up since they laid off your co-worker due to budget cuts and you're essentially working two jobs for the salary of one (but you're not complaining as thankfully that job pays the bills). And don't forget making tomorrow's work and personal to do lists. If you add a child or children to that mix, that makes three jobs (and an even longer to do list). You're an exhausted lady. But, as a recent single mother of three who has to travel some for work told me tonight, we all just learn to live on little to no sleep. Does any of this sound familiar? Since a show of hands isn't possible here, I'll assume it does for many of you.
This entry isn't about venting. It's not about your jerk of a boss who never says thank you for your unpaid overtime work, it's not about the employee who leaves early and doesn't appreciate you picking up the slack and it's not about the husband who "forgets" to wash the dishes on a regular basis. This entry is about doing something about it. And by IT, I mean you! Take care of yourself, lady. We can't just sit around whining, we have to take care of ourselves. You can't always fix such problems, even though I know you'll try, but you can find momentary relief/escape. Go buy yourself something nice, get a sitter and go out with your man or girlfriends, hire a housekeeper every few weeks, go on more walks or take a Pilates class over lunch, take a real vacation (shut off the Blackberry, for real), do the unthinkable and spend the time and money on a spa day (I bet you can even find a deal if you look/ask for one). Or did I mention taking a nap? I'm not suggesting you take your kid's savings or your house savings and buy a Porsche, I'm suggesting you take care of yourself every once in a while, as a gift for taking care of everyone else. I'm certain that if we neglect ourselves for too long, it will catch up with us. An unhappy lady makes for an unhappy worker, wife, mother, human being.
I'm not one of those people who dishes out advice, but never takes it. I am you, believe me. I'm developing a business as I type, raising a child, taking care of a home and a pet, constantly thinking about our finances and what the future holds, and I never sleep. I am the consummate planner in what seems like a very unpredictable world and my to do list is ever-growing from day to day. However, I will reward myself with a massage on Saturday, it's under $50 and for an hour I will zone out completely. If it makes you/me feel any better, I will start the day like any other day with a diaper change, feeding, and I'm volunteering at a museum, all before noon, so the day isn't a complete indulgence day (G-d forbid) people. :-)
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