Taking Care of the Me in Mommy
By Jill Savage
“Why do I feel like I want to run away from home?” asked the weary mom sitting across the table from me. “I love my family, but I feel like I’ve lost myself somewhere along the way,” she lamented. I reassured this young mom that her feelings were normal, but she did need to pay attention to them. One of the early mothering lessons I learned was that in order to take care of my family, I had to first take care of myself.
The truth is that moms do need to recharge their batteries. They need fresh vision, new ideas, and encouragement for the journey of motherhood. Knowing where to find those resources is the first place to begin taking care of yourself. Once you know what is available, the next step is maximizing the resources to meet your needs. Check out some of these resources available to any mom:
Moms Groups—Many moms tap into moms groups that meet during the school year. If you have preschoolers, check out www.mops.org to find a group in your area.
Internet—Moms need support from other moms. They need a place to find new ideas. They need encouragement. The internet can be a wonderful place to meet all of those needs. There are hundreds of websites to help moms do their job well. Need encouragement in mothering? Check out www.hearts-at-home.org or mops.org. Need help with home organization and general housekeeping? You won’t want to miss www.flylady.net! How about marriage? Take a peek at www.marriagepartnership.com. If you don’t have the Internet at home, you can find access to the web at the local libraries.
Books—Visit the library or local bookstore and pick up a book to encourage you in your mothering. You’ll find dozens of mothering books at www.hearts-at-home.org.
Other Moms—One of the best resources available is other mothers. Ask a neighbor or friend to trade “days off” with you. Offer to watch her children one day a week in exchange for watching your children one day a week. The kids have someone to play with and the moms have some time off! It’s win-win for everyone!
Conferences—The Family Life Marriage Conference is an excellent resource to encourage you in your marriage. Find out info at www.familylife.com. There are two Hearts at Home conferences this fall. Hearts at Home is one of the only conferences designed just for moms. It’s not too late to join in the fun. Check out www.hearts-at-home.org for more info.
Elisa Morgan writes in her book What Every Mom Needs, “We have to learn to help ourselves. We have to learn to ask. Directly, by using words. No one can read your mind. No one is going to waltz in, recognize your predicament, and save you.”
You and I have an abundance of resources available to us; we simply need to take the steps to incorporate them into our lives. Rather than recovering from mommy meltdown, we can learn to avoid it all together!
