If there's one thing I have learned as I get older, it's that guilt must be a female thing. Or perhaps it's a mommy thing. Either way it is something that I deal with on a daily basis. Why is that? Why do women (me) beat themselves up over needing to take care of their self first? Why do women (me) feel a gut wrenching pain sometimes over needing a couple of hours alone? Why do women (me) feel guilty over wanting to have some time with girlfriends that can totally relate on a female level? Is it simply because we are born with that need to be a caretaker for everyone else? Is it peer pressure to have that perfect family so we work ourselves to death to make it appear that way and in the process forget about keeping our self healthy and happy?
As things change and I get older I realize that it is so important to take care of myself on so many levels. I need to be physically healthy, for myself and for my family. If something happens to one of them how am I gonna take care of their needs if I am sick or exhausted? I need to be physically fit, for myself and my family. How can I go outside and run around with these beautiful girls of mine if I can't literally run around? I need to be spiritually healthy, for myself and my family. In the event of something tragic, how can I stand strong and be a light for people if I can't even hold myself upright and not be heap on the floor asking why? And I need to have peace and joy. When it comes to that mommy guilt, peace and joy are the most difficult for me. Guilt can suck the joy right out of the moment.
Ladies, it's OK to have some "me" time!! It's OK to take time away to go to an exercise class that you love to go to a couple of times a week. It's OK to go out with a girlfriend or two, with no kids or husbands, just to laugh and catch up. IT'S OK!! It's OK to find some quiet time in your house to read a devotional or to have some quiet prayer time. It's OK on your day off to walk away from the laundry so you can go get a pedicure! The laundry will always be there, trust me :) IT'S OK!!
Guilt is no fun and to get rid of it is a work in progress. I am a work in progress and IT'S OK!!
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