Moms, How Do You Find Time For Yourself During Quarantine

 Hello Moms!

We are experiencing unprecedented times, this has never happened to us ever. 

Although, most of us do not have to be out as much, we are learning how to navigate being home. 

Working from home, distant learning, chores and the list goes one. It has been a busy year and there is no 

end in sight. How do moms separate home life from work life and school life? 

Our entire world have collided together. Its been a constant juggling act for most of us. 

I was having a difficult time finding me time before this pandemic appeared. Although, I did have the 

luxury of going to the gym after school drop offs. Oh how I miss those days, I don't feel too safe going to 

the gym right now, it is a unnecessary risk for me to take. When I'm doing chores and checking on my 

children during distant learning, the day goes by quickly. I get so caught up with every detail of my children 

and chores that I have no time for anything else. I am always getting distracted with work, It was a never 

ending cycle! This weekend I decided to stop and focus on my self for a few hours. 

On Sunday, I woke up and went straight to the shower, got ready and took myself for a pedicure. I decided 

to try something new, I tried a Jelly Pedicure and I loved it. I don't think that I will ever go back to a regular 

pedicure. The only issue is that the time went way too fast, I wish that my self care time was longer. 

I was not ready to go home and get back in the house. When I arrived home I decided to hang out in the car 

and listen to some music. It was fun while it last, I plan on having more days when I avoid distractions, drop

everything and take care of myself. How do you find time for yourself in quarantine? Comment and share 

your self care journey.

Me taking a moment to breathe before I go back into the house. Hanging out in my car listening to music.

Mommy What Do You Do All Day? No Mom Want To Hear This Question.

 It's interesting to know that most children cannot describe what their mom does all day. Recently, this came up in a discussion at home. My husband suggested that we all (entire family) switch roles and role play. Then on of my children jokingly said " what does mommy do all day" 😑

Really, you want to know what I do, you couldn't handle what I do on a daily basis. I can hardly handle it myself at times. On top of all the chores and dealing with children school stuff, I have to be therapist dealing with everyone's feelings and emotions. Not to mention be a personal driver for my kids. Then I have deal with married life stuff, then if I am lucky if I have sometime for myself. I am always giving myself the left overs, of time and energy after giving to my family. What does mom do all day? The answer to your question is everything! I do not have a one track mind, I dabble in everything. 

The quickest way for everyone to find out what I do is if I stop doing it. Then you will clearly see what mom does all day. This is how I am feeling today 😁

Anyway, life goes on and on. Hang in there to all the moms who are doing their best with what they have. This Pandemic has caused moms to work double time, hang in there it gets better. 

MOM GUILT IS REAL!

 Mom guilt is such a real thing in every sense of the word. 

I have experienced mom guilt at every stage of my motherhood journey. I would feel guilty about buying something for myself or having free time. I would rather go without and make sure that me children have what they need and things that they may want. Being a mom is no doubt a selfless job, and the bottom line for me is that, I would rather spend my last dollar on my children. I will admit, that in the infancy of motherhood my appearance was not the best that it could be. My children on the other hand, were always dressed nicely and taken care of. In fact, one of my favorite pass times was dressing my kids up and taking pictures. I was and am always stingy with the time I have for self-care. I felt guilty about nearly everything that meant that I would have to give time and resources to myself. 

Striking Balance

Now that my children are teenagers, I still feel mom guilt at times. I am just learning how to take better care of myself. Mommy burnout is also real and often times for me it's caused by mom guilt. I previously felt like I needed to jump through hoops to please everyone. Now, I know that I need to take care of myself so that I can give my best self to my family. There are other manifestations of mom guilt, some of these may be natural feelings that moms go through. Whatever, the case I am working my way through it and taking good care of myself. 

Moms Make It Happen

 This goes without saying, moms are always multitasking all day everyday. I can't think of a day or time when I am not multitasking. I don't know what it's like to only have one task on a daily basis. 

Multitasking is really an understatement, to say the least. Motherhood is more than just completing a series of task. It is also about being present physically, emotionally and spiritually, it about being devoted and being available in every way to our children. I am sure every parent understand what a big commitment having children are, it's never as simple as completing a task. There is always a need that have to be addressed when it comes to raising children. There are a million moving parts all at once when it comes to raising children. Not to mention, moms are not just moms we wear other hats that are also important. Some of us have careers and spouses. That is another area of our lives that needs attention, and then we have to find time for self care which is equally as important. Sometimes we may feel like we are spreading ourselves thin, but some how we get it done. Sometimes we are tired and stressed from juggling it all. It really is not an easy job but we make it happen. We do it for the love of our families and that makes it worth it. 

SAYING FAREWELL TO SUMMER

 It's hard to believe that fall is here, but it's here. Summer went by fast and slow at the same time, let me explain. It was fast in the sense that here we are at the end of September in a flash; It was also slow in the sense that we spent most of the summer in quarantine. Safety was an issue due to the corona virus, so we ventured out the house on rare occasions. Quarantine makes the time feel slower than it actually is, these are the reasons why I say that the summer was fast and slow at the same time.

Does any one else feel like the summer went by fast and slow at the same time? Let me know in the comment section. 

I actually love the fall, the breeze blowing through my hair and the beautiful multicolored leaves are a sight to see. For a long time I actually called myself a "fall baby" with great pride. I was under the impression that my birthday was in the fall, I recently found out that my birthday is actually in the summer. I've always associated my birthday with going back to school in the fall. It's funny that I am just finding out in my 40's that my birthday is actually in summer. That was a funny story, I couldn't help but to share it. 😁

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FALL WITH YOUR FAMILY?

I think what I am looking forward to is spending time with family, this year has been a roller coaster ride and I am sure that many of you can relate to this. I think that this fall will be a time of love and spending quality time together as a family. Drop a comment, and tell me what you're looking forward to doing with your family this fall. 

Moms Are You Looking Forward To The Holidays?

This holiday will not be like all other holidays, we have the big elephant in the room. That big elephant in the room is corona virus, this holiday will not be business as usual because of safety concerns. Not to mention the families who have lost their loved ones this year, this will be their first holiday without their loved ones. Some of us either lost a loved one this year or we know someone that lost a loved one, to corona virus or other illness. In just 5 short months it will be a year since corona virus has been among us here in the United States. This holiday will be a little different for sure, but I believe that we can all persevere and get through this. 

I am very cautious this holiday season, I am still undecided about my holiday plans. I am thinking about just staying home with my immediate family or maybe inviting a few close family over for the holidays. I am waiting to see how the corona virus develops this winter. I want to be safe at the same time I don't want the seriousness of what is going on to take away the joy of the holidays.

Whatever I end up doing this holiday, I plan on being safe and having a great time. Wishing you and your family the best for this holiday season.  

How Is Quarantine School Going?

This year is unlike any other year for our children, instead of going to a school building our home office has become the make shift classroom. Teachers and student are meeting virtually this school year in our school district until further notice. This global pandemic has disrupted our usual way of doing things, we are all living our version of the new normal. 

Hiccups 

We have had our share of hiccups when it comes to remote learning/distant learning. The first day of school was a struggle for me, I have two children in two different phase of their education. They are both equally as important. My daughter is starting highs school and my son is in his junior year of high school. It's a challenge, to keep up with everything on a regular basis then you add a pandemic to make it more complicated. The first day of high school for my daughter was difficult because technology was not cooperating with us. It was frustrating to say the least, that was not a good first day of high school for her. Like the mama bear I am, I had to troubleshoot every issue with the school. I was able to find a way for her to attend class even though she did not have full access to her assignments. I fought a good fight and by the second day, everything was up and running. We decided to make the second day our official first day, to make up for the rough day we had previously. My son on the other hand had a smooth sailing day, although his junior year will be spent here at home, we will make the best of it. 

Staying Connected

I encourage my children to stay connected with their friends because socialization is very important. Children need to have wholesome friendships and a sense of normalcy in this pandemic. There are so many changes taking place in the last few months, children need stability. Staying connected with friends can give that stability in these uncertain times. We all need a constant in our lives at this moment, this pandemic has shown us that life is uncertain. My constant has been my faith and my family. Everything maybe changing around us but we are there for each other. 

Whatever Tomorrow Brings

Whatever tomorrow brings we will rise challenge and keep moving forward. This is not an ordinary school year, but we've got this!