ME TIME

Its Friday, the end of another long tiresome week, and all you want to do is RELAX.  Yeah, right….Fridays rarely means that your work is done.  As a single parent, this means that it’s time to catch up on laundry, house work, run your kid or kids to birthday parties, festivals, etc.  It can be hard, and often times you want to scream “ME TIME PLEASE”.  Below are a few things I do to relax after a long week. Some are pretty simple and some are just a tad bit on the “cooky” side…but all in all, they help me!

1)      WINE WINE WINE! Nothing like curling on the couch with a good Lifetime movie with a glass of wine.  And to be honest, I don’t have to have some 20 year old vintage wine from the hills of “whoopty-do”.  I can drink my wine from a bottle or a box.  Moscato is my preference.  A nice sweet wine, which most wine connoisseurs label as a “dessert wine”.  If not moscato, I prefer white zinfandel.  Be sure to pour it in a nice wine glass! Everything taste better out a wine glass!

2)      BURY MY FEET IN SAND.  I know you are thinking…wth?  But have you tried it?  If you have a toddler size kid, take them to a park that has a sandbox.  Then, take your shoes off and bury your feet.  RELIEF! Something about putting my feet in the sand just releases all this stress and anxiety! It brings me to a happy place, and that happy place is buried deep down in that sandbox.  No wonder kids are so happy there!

3)      Bubble Bath. This one you may have to do when the kids are asleep.  Run you some nice warm water.  Put those bubbles in there.  I don’t do anything fancy like going to buy some expensive $20 bottle of bubbles, that’s so unnecessary.  Just use one of your body washes under the cabinet or steal your kids Mr. Bubbles.  If all else fails pour a little dish detergent in there….who really cares what you use, unless you have sensitive skin.  After you get your bath together, set the mood by turning the lights out and burning a candle.   Play a little music and don’t forget that glass of wine! If it’s been “that” kind of week, upgrade to a little cocktail. I won’t judge….

4)      Call a friend. Now this one can be tricky.  The key is to call a friend who ALWAYS has words of encouragement.  Someone who you can spend hours on the phone laughing and joking with.  Please do not call that friend that always has some drama going on.  You know the one, everything in their life just sucks! Don’t call them; you have no time for that.  Call that friend, who seems to carry sunshine sundaes in her pocket, and sees the light at the end of the tunnel even if all the electricity has been cut off! You know what I mean.

5)      Exercise.  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…who wants to run after such a tiring week?  But I promise you, it will make you feel great.  It gives you all these endorphins and gives you this high that even cheap wine can’t give you.  If you aren’t a runner and the thought of running sends you into a bout of depression then skip this one and go straight to the bubble bath with wine…again it’s about YOU and what relaxes YOU!

Put those single parent, let me conquer the world and make it home to cook dinner thoughts away and find you some “ME TIME” and RELAX!

-Cris