Sometimes Mommy Needs a Timeout Too

It started with mommy yelling for no good reason at my sweet boy this weekend (which actually rarely happens, meaning that the yelling is usually quite warranted). This one was not warranted, so that promptly led mommy to apologize and then allow her three-year old to send me to "timeout", since "lelling" as he says, is not acceptable. But really, I think the realization that I was losing it, started weeks before today. Life has been tough emotionally lately. Nothing major, but a lot of small personal hurts and disappointments have been tearing at my heart, breaking me down. This weekend, it seemed these hurts began to take a physical toll, when it hurt to walk on my hip, I had major headaches and then a sick stomach this morning. That's when I realized this mommy needed a timeout, which we explain to my little guy, is a time to reset.

It's funny how we take so much better care of ourselves when we are single and young, pursuing our dreams, making time for friends and personal enjoyments, and taking time to rest when we need to do this. In my 20's and early 30's, I would generally take a mental health day a couple times a year from work, and take a random Saturday or Sunday to do absolutely nothing on a routine basis. These days were good for my soul. But once you become a wife and mother your days are not your own and it is rare that you can simply take a timeout.

So today, since I was feeling poorly and feeling like I could not take one more forward step emotionally or physically, I put myself in timeout. I cancelled working with my client. I sat and watched television, I read a little, I surfed the web and I napped. I did not berate myself for not cleaning house, working on paperwork, or being productive in someway. I simply used those few precious hours to reset. And believe it or not, that is all it took.

Long story short, I need to remember that sometimes mommy just needs a timeout too. Now if I could convince Lane that his timeouts are actually good for him, I would be batting a thousand :)