Me time: Unexpected calm and guilt free

This weekend has been quiet; we lost two out of three for sleepovers….so we managed to get a bit of “me time”

With the younger two gone on Friday, we had a treat of ice cream with chocolate for tea. Without the boys on Saturday night, we had pizza while watching Pirate of the Caribbean, which our daughter has been saying for a while she would like to see.

It’s funny though, isn’t it….sometimes you feel (or at least I do) so desperate for a bit of space, and an evening which is not dominated by the kids bath and bed time, when you do finally get to relax and have some grown up conversation….well…

…then you don’t quite know what to do with it or you find yourself wondering… What will they be doing now. Do you think they are ok?

If we can organise some me time for ourselves, it can help us remember who we are other than just Mum and Dad.

A weekend can be marvellous, but not always possible, so if you can manage only a couple of hours, then do enjoy them.

There is no need to feel guilty.

I believe you can return recharged, and so a better parent.

We do miss them and wonder what they are up to, and I’m not sure they always miss us. Sometimes they are just having too great a time to notice that we are gone. That’s a good thing, though. They can enjoy time with other adults. Although we would like them to want to do everything with us, it gives us a break and helps prepare for when we will be apart whether that’s those first days of school, the first sleepover, or a birthday treat out with another family.

We are extremely lucky we have family nearby who love having the kids over. In fact, my mother in law asked me if they could have our eldest for the night when he was only about six months old and it never occurred to me they might like him to stay!!

If you don’t have family near you, or they are reluctant, you could arrange with a friend to do a swop either for an evening babysit, a few hours in a day. You never know, this may progress to a sleepover.

It could be just what both families need.

Do you fin yourself not sure what to do with your me time – or do you just grab that coffee and run!

This is our regular parenting guest post by Beckie Whitehouse from Be Confident Coaching.

Image above courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Helen

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine!Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time.KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10.It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania.Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on.Get in touch TODAY!

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