Mothering Me: The Secret to Stopping Time for Busy Moms

As I rush to make my massage appointment I reprimand myself for not allowing enough time to get there. Even in my hurriedness I see the irony in being stressed out while attempting to make my relaxing massage appointment.

Doubt creeps in my mind. Is it even worth the hassle to take time out for me?

The scent of lavender that wafts through my nose as I enter Le Petite Spa takes my doubt away. I am in the right place. Here I find an oasis for busy moms and moms-to-be. The process of de-stressing occurs as I slip on my spa robe and slippers. Suddenly my only big decision is water with lemon or water with cucumber.

As I sit in the candle lit relaxation room I wonder, "Now why don't I do this more?" My masseuse Andrew enters the room and my heart momentarily stops as I silently make a note to self to consider requesting a female masseuse when I am looking like a baby beluga whale at 7.5 months pregnant!

Yes, being a parenting educator and counselor does not exclude even me from the impact of the female ego. :-)

Yet, Andrew’s warmth and professional approach puts me at ease and soon has me forgetting all about the extra 26lbs of baby weight he will soon massage. The only request the masseuse makes of me is to breathe. So I inhale and exhale and hear my husband’s corny joke inside my head ("Denial is more than a river in Egypt") as I realize that my body is much more stressed and tense than I realized.

Half an hour into the massage, time seems to have stopped. The mental popup boxes of endless to do items that usually bombard my mind have vanished and I drift away.

The massage is over far too soon.

In an attempt to take this oasis experience home with me I purchase some lavender bath salts and decide to start taking candlelit baths again.

Later I walk through my front door carrying that timeless peacefulness with me. The mountain of papers on my desk, the heaps of laundry and the emails left unanswered no longer fill me with the same overwhelm they did only this morning.

Again I am reminded that lately I have not taken to heart the self care advice I so often give mothers. Smiling I read my own wisdom:

“Being a good mother means making and taking the time to mother yourself so you can mother them well.”

So this is my renewed promise: To do more of the things that re-energize me more, so I can take care of my family more in the way they so deserve.

How about you? Needing more mom self care?

Here's a link to an article written about the self-care philosophy for moms I write about in my book.