Plan a break!

Everyone needs a break now and then. It’s true for everyone. The routine can become painful! This is especially difficult when you have young children as there are so many things you are responsible for when caring for them. I know when my children are older, there will be difficulties as well. (You know, when they someday are angry and give me the dreaded “I hate you!”) For now, though, the responsibilities can sometimes be overwhelming. Do we have enough food they can be persuaded to eat in the fridge? Are there any t-shirts they haven’t gotten dirty yet? Am I going to run out of diapers? Wipes? Pacifiers? Sanity? So I am encouraging everyone (even if your days don’t consist of getting smears of food on your shirt and stickers on your butt) to plan a break! Seriously, pick someone you trust and beg them to watch your children/cat/ficus and go away. Planning isn’t usually my personal strength, but as I’ve gotten wiser (okay, maybe older, too) I’ve come to understand that if I actually want things to happen I can’t rely on it to just work out that way, I’ve got to plan for it! So stay up an extra 20 minutes tonight and plan a break for yourself with your husband, sister, friend, mom, dog, or whomever else is awesome in your life.

Maybe you can be inspired by my break: I came home last night from a weekend in Chicago with my mom, sister, and niece. It was our girls weekend and it was so wonderful to leave concerns behind and just play! First we went to the Shedd Aquarium, which was fantastic. We saw too many creatures to keep track of and spent more time than we had anticipated there because it was so great!

We ate Chicago-style pizza and had fun shopping on Michigan Avenue. We ate a fancy dinner at Wildfire which was delicious. (I especially enjoyed choosing foods with cheese, since I tend not to cook with it as much because of my son’s dairy allergy.)

We finished our weekend off with doughnuts and mass (where we even took up the gifts!)

 

Conclusion: plan a break from the mothering and you will find yourself relaxed and ready to take on whatever madness your children can dish out!