Mayday

You know what that picture is.  It's an oxygen mask.  It deploys in front of your face if your plane is going down.

I've mentioned this before.  My father in law always tells me, Take care of yourself.  If your plane was going down, you would put your oxygen mask on first before you put it on your kids, because if you didn't put it on you first, then there would be no one there to take care of the kids!

He's right.

The majority of this summer has been okay.  I've alternated between periods of frantic juggling and total dead time...both of which I hate.  I love a happy medium, and this summer there has been a dearth of happy mediums.  I got an email from a dear friend who I've known for a long time.  She said, Come up here.  I'll take you to get your hair done.  We'll have lunch.

My first thought was, Why is she being so nice to me???


Isn't that awful?  I thought that, and then I thought, What in the world has happened to me, that my mindset has become so cynical?  


So I accepted her invitation and went.  While I was there she told me how she felt after she had her last child.  And I realized for many months, I had been feeling the same way.  Like you are holding your breath.  Like you are running a marathon.  And you forget, almost, what it's like to just walk and breathe like a normal person!

After we had lunch and did the hair thing (and a big thanks to her, she knows who she is)...I felt so...what is the word?  I was so grateful, of course.  But I also realized that I had been ignoring myself.  That I wasn't taking the time to actually take care of myself.  And I think people...not just moms, but dads too...do this.  We become so wrapped up in our children and the drama of everyday life that we forget to stop, and look at ourselves, and ask ourselves, okay, what do you need?  And doing this is not selfish.  It would be selfish if that's what we focused on all the time.  But doing it every now and then is not selfish, it's essential.

So if you are a mom, or a dad, reading this entry...and more than likely, you are....do something for yourself. Do go get your hair done.  Do buy those tickets to see that team you love.  Go get a massage.  Order that book.   Take care of yourself.  Then come back and pick up your kid (or kids) and give them a hug and kiss and feel better.
 

And don't forget to breathe.