images via The Glow...Pretty much every thing that Hannah Henderson said in her interview on The Glow was brilliant, but this little nugget of wisdom especially resonated with me:
"I try to pay close attention to the signals in myself and in the kids. If I'm feeling overwhelmed or irritable, it usually means that I need some time for myself. If one of the kids is extra cranky or aloof for no apparent reason, that means they need more mama time. I have to stay tuned in to the cues."
I have been feeling "the overwhelm" of late. And, for that matter, "the irritable" too. The endless guilt that I'm not doing enough with my girlies, the nagging sense that I might be a less than stellar wife (not to mention sister, daughter, and friend), and the just general feeling that I can't seem to stay ahead of the game, has me wanting to curl up in fetal position on a semi-regular basis. But I resist the urge to roll up like a little ball, as I can't help but think that taking a "time out" (even a five minute one) will only exacerbate the aforementioned overwhelm and irritable.
Oy vey.
Turns out a little break — even, say a two-day one — actually can help. (All those freakin' self help books/articles/therapists/people way smarter than me were right.) I know this because I took one. This past weekend. To a spa (well actually an "experiential resort") where, along with my equally overwhelmed and irritable mama friend Brandy, I partook in some yoga and hiking and massage/facial action and archery and chakra cleansing (yes, really) and pool lazing and, wait for it, staring out at trees and birds and whatnot and doing nothing.
Damn, it felt good. The time away from the daily routine was exactly what this overwhelmed/irritable lady needed. Never mind that upon returning home Audrey told me I should go away more often so someone wouldn't always be telling her and Millie and Daddy (!!) to clean up all the time. (Oh really??? Based on this text from the hubs, received a mere nine hours after my departure, I'm thinking they'd implode without me around long term.) Never mind that my to do list still contains an obscene amount of items. My chakras are cleansed baby. I'm up for the challenge. Bring it on.