2/23/17

Besides Coffee and Jesus...My 3 Sanity Savers

My oldest is coming up on 8! That means I've been home with babies for almost 8 years. I absolutely love being home with my kids, taking care of the house, and generally managing all the things. BUT, as beautiful as it is, the mom thing can be an excruciatingly boring, thankless, and isolating job.

I'm preaching the choir, right?


In the early years, to keep from losing it, I embraced hobbies like photography, blogging, and sewing. But as time went on and we had more kids, that time for myself has dwindled down to the nubbins.

This has been my biggest struggle over the years...the ever diminishing time for myself.

However, I'm still hanging on to 3 things that save my sanity (besides coffee and Jesus, of course). I dabble in these 3 things every day and they continually minister to me on the darkest of mom days.

1. Audio books and podcasts.

I listen to audio books using Audible.

My most recent favorite was The Boys in the Boat, and I'm currently loving Parenting: The 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family... by Paul David Tripp.

I listen in the car, while I'm cleaning the kitchen, on walks, etc. Love love love me some audio books.

As far as my 3 can't miss podcasts...I've mentioned them all on the blog before.

The World and Everything In It (news)
Sorta Awesome (everything awesome)
What Should I Read Next? (books)

2. Pilates

It's really hard to find time to exercise, and I discovered that the only way to be consistent is to do it when Caroline takes her nap. I use a subscription service, The Balanced Life with Robin Long that provides workouts varying in length from 10 - 40 minutes. Laurie even joined me today!

This is geared towards moms who don't have any time! So it's perfect for me. I love that there is not a lot of talking, music, or storytelling during the videos. It's strictly business. I also appreciate the modest workout clothes that Robin wears. I always have kids walking in on me while I'm exercising. Some of the YouTubers I've used in the past have been so scantily dressed, I was always stopping the videos. 

3. Wine

I drink 6 oz of wine every evening. Yes, I measure. I'm prone to headaches and much past 6 oz crosses the line from being beneficial to migraine city. My wine ritual means it's quitting time. But since I'm a mom and it's never really quitting time...it just means I stop doing housework and move on to the evening activities of dinner and bedtime routines. I shift from being house-focused to more people-focused.

The wine is symbolic. It's when I switch from being Martha to Mary.

So...

How do you deal with the relentlessness of motherhood and homemaking?
What are your daily things? Hot baths every night, reading, running?

5 comments:

  1. You forgot to mention writing this blog as a sanity saver :)
    My "thing" over the last year and a half has been running. I love it! I use to hate it with a passion. But after postpartum anxiety, it was the only thing that helped. Now I LOVE It! Can't go a couple of days without it. I pop in my "gangster" music and run! It's my "me" time and a great outlet.

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  2. Coffee, wine and Jesus are my daily givens! Ever diminishing alone time is my hardest struggle, too. Outside time is a necessity for me, and bookending the day with a morning quiet time and nightly novel reading help me feel like life isn't one long day!

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  3. I too love Robin and the sisterhood! I also recently joined jazzercise, they have a weekday babysitter so it allows me some me time during the week when my husband is at work. Your blog also always cheers me up and inspires me!

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  4. Self-care is so important (I say.. yet practicing it without guilt is hard!). I don't drink coffee or alcohol, but I've also taken to exercising. It is crazy for someone like me to say this, since I was never athletic and have only exercised as an adult out of duty, but I actually enjoy and even crave it now! I wish I were disciplined enough to exercise on my own like you, but it only happens going to classes at my local Y. I need someone telling me exactly what to do, and I enjoy seeing a group of people regularly. I also 2nd the audio book idea -- it means looking forward to otherwise mundane tasks. What I'm missing is a creative outlet, so I'm thinking about that now. Sometimes house projects help me fill that void.

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  5. Best blog post title ever!!

    My savers are my blog, hanging on the phone with my best friend while I do boring chores like dishes, and taking breaks from my kids. That last one happens in various ways - getting relatives to babysit, or getting out with girlfriends. I have been wanting/hoping/needing to start up pilates again - so thanks for the inspiration.

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