Filling my Bucket

I need a "me" day. I'd even take just a few "me" hours. I need some time to rest, revitalize, and fill my bucket. As a mom I am constantly dipping out of my bucket to fill up others; my children, my husband, our pets. All of these I want to help and support, but I can't do that if I have nothing left to give. In my perfect day I'd have all my reserves filled so I could spend it with my family, but in order to get there, I need some time for me. That is hard to admit sometimes because we don't want to be thought of as vain or selfish. It's hard to spoil ourselves sometimes when we think about everything else we could be doing with our time or our money. But if we don't do something to help ourselves and to find our own happiness, then we can't help our family.

Some things I do to fill my bucket are: hang out with my girlfriends. I get to do this next Saturday and I'm so excited! Also, sew. I love to do crafts and I could and have spent hours in my sewing room cutting and sewing fabric. Also crochet, knitting, and tatting. Reading a good book can be relaxing also. A good book lets me visit someone elses world for a while and can give me perspective on my own life. Once common thing about all of these, though, is that while I find them to be relaxing, they are also things that can improve the lives of my whole family. If I have an uplifting visit with friends I may learn something new that I can apply to my household. Much of my sewing and other craft projects are also for our house. And of course, reading is just good all around, as long as you read good books. So, I guess that it isn't too bad to spend some time doing things that fill me up when it also benefits the family.

The Perfect Day

Okay, just imagine it, while you are sleeping, a miracle happens. Everything that was holding you back from having the perfect day is gone. You wake up, what is the first thing you notice that tells you this miracle has happened? What do you do? Do you sleep in or wake early? How would you spend this perfect day and who would you spend it with? What about in the evening? How does your perfect day go? Remember, there are no limits, a miracle has happened! If you needed money, you have it, if you needed to be older/younger/ fitter, it's done.

This was an exercise that I did recently when I realized I really didn't know what to do next. After looking at my perfect day I looked at things that I could do to come closer to that reality. One of those steps includes decorating my bedroom. I've put it off because no one ever sees my room but us and so I should get the rest of the house done first. What I've noticed, though, is that I need a nice, restful place to be and I should have a nice bedroom. Also, I don't know what I want my sanctuary to be like. Do I want something that reminds me of the forest or the beach? Both of those are relaxing to me. Or do I want a more feminine, romantic feel? So to help me decide I went to the paint store and got paint samples and pictures to look at and hang on the wall to see which ones I gravitate to.

I am also making plans on how I want our yard to look and finding ideas for my own personal garden that I will have someday. Robert and I have a lot of space and it will be nice to get all this space organized and landscaped. I want a few more trees, like a maple tree and a weeping willow tree, but I don't know where I want to put them. I think that would be a good project to do for a date night with Robert. I guess I do have plans for the future now.

Sore

I really want to physically get in better shape. I want to be able to "kinda" keep up with my kids. I want to be able to hold my baby and not feel like she weighs a million pounds (she's really small), and I want to have energy to give to other people. So, I have been getting together in the mornings with some friends and we work out to exercise videos. It's fun getting together. This week we decided to start a program to get us all beach bodies and be "Slim in 6" weeks. I tell you what, I can barely walk today. The exercises aren't all that hard nor are they very aerobic, but we were sweating and working our muscles. Even though I'm sore, I'm glad. I know that I am working on becoming a better me and a healthier me. It wouldn't hurt for me to be able to fit back into some of my clothes that "shrunk" while I was pregnant either ;)

Go Me!

Life has been busy around here. I am just trying to get things ready for whatever, but starting is hard to do sometimes. One of the lessons I am working on is that I don't have to have everything ready right now. I can work on one thing at a time and progress, not perfection, is my goal right now. That being said, I am losing weight! I have been walking a few days with a friend and now that it is getting colder a group of moms I know are all getting together to exercise in mornings. Our kids all play together while we work out. This is good for me in so many ways. First off, I will be in better shape physically. Exercise also helps you feel better emotionally, a very good thing since winter is coming. I will also get to get out of my house and socialize with other moms. That is also something I need.

A journey begins with a single step and I am ready to step on the way to becoming a better me.