Reclaiming Myself, One Day at a Time

A few weeks ago, I took a hard look at myself in the mirror and realized that I did not like the person that was looking back at me. I was always running, always going, and never had any time to really enjoy myself anymore. Do you ever feel that way?

I have been doing a little busyness detox program and trying to reclaim back some of the person that I used to be…you know, the person I was before I had my fabulous children. I never realized though how much my self-esteem and my livelihood seemed to step from my busyness. If I was
not always bemoaning how busy I was, what in the world would I even have to talk about?

Here are some things that I have begun doing to reclaim my time and my old self back:

1. I am saying no to activities and events that are causing me to feel so busy. I took a close look at my calendar and realized that the majority of the things on it were optional and I didn't necessarily need to go to everything that I had written down. Not only do my days feel less stressful, but saving on gas right now is an added bonus.

2. I started exercising again. Now that my days were cleared, I felt like I could make time to exercise again. I found a way to get a free gym membership, and I began taking some classes to start getting my body back in shape. What a difference three days at the gym can make for more overall attitude as a mother, wife, and friend. I have more energy and I feel better about myself when I can carve out this time.

3. I picked up a hobby and have started learning to knit. I am not good at it, but I am learning and this little hobby has helped to calm me in the evenings… a time when I tend to feel the most wired and stressed. The kids and I spend "creative time" together and they draw pictures while I knit. I love that they are witnessing me being creative and that we can have this special time together.

4. I slowed down on the things that suck up the majority of my time…mainly the computer and the television. I replaced this time with conversations with my husband, time spent hanging out with the kids, reading books, and spending time baking in the kitchen. I love being on the computer and watching television, but I am learning to set time limits on these so that I have more time to fill it with family.

These are just some of the changes I have made, but each day I feel more and more like my old self. Guess what? I like her a whole lot more and so does my family!

Sound Off: Are you a busy bee? What are some things you could do to reclaim some of your former self?

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Family.