Mom! I want juice! Dad, I’m hungry! Where are my favorite socks? Who touched my toys? Hey, he just hit me! No, you started it…
Has your day ever begun this way? Then, you are not alone. We parents endure a myriad of stress, juggling career and family, and balancing the moods of our loved ones like a circus plate spinner. It is no wonder that we need a little solace from our day-to-day lives every now and then. Enter the comfort zone with the following suggestions to care for the caretaker:
15-Minute Treats
• Take a relaxing bubble bath with a scented bath oil bead. It’s 15 cents and 15 minutes out of your life that can leave you refreshed for hours afterwards.
• Take a power walk outside while wearing your headphones. Blot out the world around you and enjoy the fresh air.
• Write in your journal or read a magazine. Reading and writing can be very relaxing and cathartic activities.
• Browse the aisles of your favorite store. Craft stores always give me an uplifting feeling. Maybe your favorite store is an automotive shop. Go for it!
• Flip through your vacation photo album and mentally plan your next trip.
One-Hour Treats
• Get a professional massage.
• Take a yoga class.
• Take a leisurely stroll in the park and feed the ducks.
• Get a facial.
• Eat an entire meal without getting up once to get the ketchup (you may need to go to a restaurant for this one).
One-Day Treats
• Go to a museum.
• Plan a day by yourself in your favorite city.
• Take a hike with an old friend.
• Enroll in one day workshop on a new topic (cooking, oil painting, furniture refurbishing, etc.)
• Attend a free lecture or conference on a topic of interest.
Taking care of our own needs is an integral part of an empowered life. Ultimately, nurturing the nurturer makes not only you, but your whole family thrive.
Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother and SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, is a freelance writer living near Munich, Germany with her husband and two kids. For more parenting ideas, subscribe to her Powerful Families, Powerful Lives newsletter at http://www.diaryofamother.com.
