"Cause everybody needs to break free, from reality." Kenny Chesney
My toddler son is getting his four back teeth. Monday night he was grumpy and up every hour crying. Tuesday I took off to take him to the doctor, because such intense pain had to be something life threatening, right? Nope, they told me he was teething. They had some great ideas for keeping him relatively comfortable so he went to daycare on Wednesday and evidently had a great day. And I had a horrible day at work. I mean the kind where you end up taking lunch at 10:30 just so you don't cry at work. When I picked my son up at daycare, he proceeded to cry for three hours straight. (You have to stay ahead of pain and I can't do that if he is at daycare for the full day.) I literally crashed fifteen minutes after he did.
Today was a better day at work but my days are necessarily filled with people asking me questions. So when I left work a little early, instead of picking him up from daycare right away, I spent an hour at the Starbuck's next door just relaxing in the quiet. I have never felt like a worse mother. Who would do that? I texted my dear friend who has a toddler the same age and asked her how bad I was. She called me laughing because she was driving her toddler around in the car because she wouldn't stop crying any other way. She assured me I was not horrible. When I did pick up Jackson I felt a little guilty still, but much better equipped to handle the evening. Confessing my weakness to my mom on my way home she reminded me why she is the most brilliant mother ever. "You weren't neglecting him, he was safe and nurtured at daycare. You recognized that you needed some quiet time to yourself and you took it. That is a good thing!" He still cried tonight, but it didn't wear me out as bad as last night and I even got creative, offering him a frozen Eggo to soothe his gums.
The world keeps moving all around us and there is never a good time to stop and recharge. Many of us will never see the most beautiful beaches and mountains on earth because there just isn't enough time or money. Planning a great vacation is a wonderful way to look forward to recharging, but we should really be recharging far more often. Even if in just small ways like a quiet hour at Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, or the Public Library.
How do you find time to recharge?
My toddler son is getting his four back teeth. Monday night he was grumpy and up every hour crying. Tuesday I took off to take him to the doctor, because such intense pain had to be something life threatening, right? Nope, they told me he was teething. They had some great ideas for keeping him relatively comfortable so he went to daycare on Wednesday and evidently had a great day. And I had a horrible day at work. I mean the kind where you end up taking lunch at 10:30 just so you don't cry at work. When I picked my son up at daycare, he proceeded to cry for three hours straight. (You have to stay ahead of pain and I can't do that if he is at daycare for the full day.) I literally crashed fifteen minutes after he did.
Today was a better day at work but my days are necessarily filled with people asking me questions. So when I left work a little early, instead of picking him up from daycare right away, I spent an hour at the Starbuck's next door just relaxing in the quiet. I have never felt like a worse mother. Who would do that? I texted my dear friend who has a toddler the same age and asked her how bad I was. She called me laughing because she was driving her toddler around in the car because she wouldn't stop crying any other way. She assured me I was not horrible. When I did pick up Jackson I felt a little guilty still, but much better equipped to handle the evening. Confessing my weakness to my mom on my way home she reminded me why she is the most brilliant mother ever. "You weren't neglecting him, he was safe and nurtured at daycare. You recognized that you needed some quiet time to yourself and you took it. That is a good thing!" He still cried tonight, but it didn't wear me out as bad as last night and I even got creative, offering him a frozen Eggo to soothe his gums.
The world keeps moving all around us and there is never a good time to stop and recharge. Many of us will never see the most beautiful beaches and mountains on earth because there just isn't enough time or money. Planning a great vacation is a wonderful way to look forward to recharging, but we should really be recharging far more often. Even if in just small ways like a quiet hour at Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, or the Public Library.
How do you find time to recharge?
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