A Holiday for Me

This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and for some of us lucky ones, it was a holiday, a day away from work, a day for fun and relaxation … unless you have a clingy 7 month old at home. I didn’t realize it at the time, but now that I am reflecting back on the whole thing, I haven’t had quality me time in a while. Lately with illness and family obligations, I have been almost 100% focused on my family. I am conscious of myself and my wants and needs but I sometime struggle to make time for myself. And mommy needs her me time! 

So taking all of this into consideration, it finally hit me sometime over the weekend that Monday was a  holiday, a day in which you embrace freedom, a day that was meant to be just for you. In the past for me, that meant either lazing about the house watching bad RomComs, reading,  or a day to meet up with friends. Now I have a baby to share the holiday with  it usually does not leave to much time for relaxing. We have been through other holidays before and we are always together on Saturdays while my husband works but I wanted this day off somehow to be special. My husband had to work on Monday so I knew it would be just me and Emma again, but I also knew that we were going to make it a great day. Here’s how I gave myself a holiday while still performing my mommy duties:

1.     I got my ass in gear on Saturday and managed to finish all of the laundry by mid-day Sunday. The bathroom got a scrub down, groceries were bought, and the house had been dusted and cleaned. I was all set to go for a chore free Monday.

2.     I phoned an awesome friend on Saturday to make plans for Monday. She is the type of gal who is down for anything and does not mind having to place time limits around feedings, diaper changes, and naps.

3.     I made a general plan of what I wanted to do; some thrift store shopping and a quick stop to get a fun lunch.

4.     Plan deployed! We took our time and worked around naps. Whenever Emma napped, mommy watched crappy tv! No worries about chores or time. I made myself a special hot coco and by the time my awesome friend made it over, we had finished lunch and were ready for our thrift store outing. A great time and good bargains were had by all! (I think Emma has a great future in shopping ahead of her ….or maybe just people watching.)

All in all there were some minor bumps in the road. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but I was able to get out and enjoy a day off and catch up with a friend. I still will be planning a mommy only outing at some point, but for now, I was grateful to be able to balance time between myself and the baby for one day and I look forward to many more mommy daughter outings to come! 

Any advise you have for a restful holiday with a little one?