Making myself a priority

I'm a full-time mom. Listen, I have it good, and I really try not to take our situation for granted. We are blessed to be able to afford for me to be home with the kids rather than working outside the house. But sometimes it's hard to make myself the priority. I've made some changes recently, in addition to the weight loss, to take care of my physical and emotional well-being.

My kids go to school at the same time for 2.5 hours every day so for the first time in five years, I have some consistent time to myself to get things done. That sounds like a lot of time, right? It is the fastest 2.5 hours of my day! I use it to go to doctor's appointments, to go to the gym, to get stuff done around the house and to work a little bit online. Occasionally I get to go to lunch with a friend. Those 2.5 hours make me a better mother. I am excited (most days!) to get my kids off the bus and ready to tend to them without getting annoyed or frustrated. It's such a blessing.

I've also realized that I don't have time for people who will treat me less than I know I deserve to be treated. I have a tendency to hang on to friendships for longevity's sake and I recently shared an article on social media that gave some great advice. "People that come into your life are a blessing or a lesson." Not everyone is a blessing, unfortunately. Or they may start as a blessing and then become a lesson. The lesson is still important for you to acknowledge and take away from the situation, but probably not good to keep hanging around, know what I mean? I am a really good friend. I am loyal, supportive and I think I give pretty good advice. (I'm straining my arm here patting myself on the back.) Friendships are a two-way street, and it's not fair for either party to consistently take and not reciprocate when the other person needs it. We all have stuff going on in our lives that make it hard, and I won't bore you with my issues. I can be the shoulder to cry on, but sometimes I need to cry, too. If we're hanging on to a friendship because it's been X number of years since we first met in middle school scrapbook club, but someone is treating the other poorly, what's the point?!? I refuse to allow someone else to make me feel badly about myself. At least I'm learning to work on that. I know I'm a good person and I work it all out with God, so that's all that really matters, right?

I also recently went a got a massage for the very first time and it was AMAZING. I was too embarrassed of my weight to do something like that before so when I lost a significant amount, I treated myself to a spa afternoon. It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed to recharge. I highly recommend it if you've never done it before. I went to Vir-tu in Washington Twp. and they could not have been more professional. It was pricey but not something I plan to do regularly. It's important to take the time to do these things for ourselves. If you can't get a massage, take a yoga class, or do your nails, sometime to make yourself feel good.

Sunday is national "Give Mom a Nap Day," which I'm sure is totally made up. But what better excuse to snuggle up under a warm blanket and take a snooze to get yourself ready for the week. Doing small things like that will make you a better person, even if they seem insignificant. It will give you the energy and patience to tackle things that come your way.