Get Out! or Why a Little Space Makes Me a Better Wife and Mom

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My house is a quiet, peaceful place. My house is flooded with sunshine from open windows blinds. Daily chores and tidying up get done in my house even when the little one is awake. Especially when the little one is awake, because when she’s napping, that’s mama time. The thing is, my house is only my house when the hubby is away at work. For ridiculously complicated reasons that I don’t even fully understand myself, let alone trying to explain it to you, my hubby has been able to work from home (read: sit on his butt at home while getting paid) for the past two months. You might be thinking:

Doesn’t that sound great? Two months of sharing the responsibility of taking care of the little one! Two months of splitting the chores! Two months of taking it easy, and enjoying each other’s company!

Well, no. It doesn’t sound great because this is the real world, and things just don’t work that way here.

Don’t get me wrong. It was OK at first. But the OK period was short lived, and I soon felt myself longing for a little alone time. And not just alone, holed up in my office to avoid the video game noise or music I don’t much care for while the munchkin was napping. I mean alone in my quiet, peaceful house that I tidy up and keep tidy at my leisure. I mean alone in my house where I adhere to my loosely structured routine when and how I please. I need that. Just a little time to only be me. Not mama. Not wife. Me alone.

I knew this about myself before, but after two whole months of virtually no time to myself, I know it now beyond a shadow of a doubt. Without that time to myself, every little thing starts to grate on my nerves. Without that little bit of time, my stress level skyrockets and stays elevated, making me one unpleasant person to be around. Without that small thing, I suffer and so does everyone around me.

I’m not alone. Every mother needs a little time to herself. Taking care of everyone else while neglecting your own needs is defeating the purpose. How can you be that super-stellar mom you stive to be when you’re so stressed and frazzled that your child’s spilled milk actually does make you cry?

Do yourself and your family a favor by being a little selfish with the mom-time. Believe me, it makes a BIG difference.

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