Delightful Defrazzlers – for Mothers
I will cherish this moment. I will not let it slip away like sand between my fingers. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come, but I have this moment today! (Unknown)
With the crazy kinds of schedules that moms need to cope with today it’s more important than ever to learn how to grab hold of moments to refresh, strengthen and nourish our souls and bodies. If you asked most mothers what their biggest frustration is, I think you'd find that one of them is a lack of time to look after their own needs so that they can be more effective at their mothering.
The key for me has been the ability to find small moments – like five minutes - and then use them well. The trick is being prepared! Here are some ideas to get you started.
“Mini Car-Spa”- In the glove compartment of your car put a CD of relaxing music, a facial mister (or make your own with distilled water and a few drops of tangerine essential oil) and a stress ball. When you end up waiting in the car, put on the CD, spritz your face with the mister, and then breathe deeply while you play with the stress ball.
“Waiting Room Manicure” in a small bag in your purse, put a good nail file, a nail buffer, and some really luxurious hand and nail cream – not cheap stuff, really good stuff. While you're waiting, file and buff your nails and then take time to massage the cream well into your hands and nails. This is a whole lot more relaxing than browsing through magazines full of women with perfect bodies, fabulous careers, and perfect families!
“Humour for the Arsenic Hour” - The “arsenic hour” is that time at the end of the day just before supper when everyone's grumpy and tired. Here's a good way to cope: somewhere handy in your kitchen keep a book that makes you laugh – like Erma Bombeck. Then, in that “useless five minutes” while you're waiting for dinner to finish cooking (or even better, 5 minutes before you need to get started with dinner), get a cup of really good tea/coffee, and sit for a minute and read a few bits of humour. The laughter will ease the tension of a long day, and put you in a good frame of mind for dinner with the family.
“Insomnia kit” - get a nice lavender scented candle (real essential oil is better than an artificially scented one), a CD of Bach's “Goldberg Variations” (written for an insomniac King!) and a book like “Chicken Soup” with short, inspirational stories and put them into a little basket by a comfy chair somewhere outside of your bedroom. When you can't sleep turn on the music, light the candle, and breathe deeply. Then curl up and read the book until you're sleepy. Just make sure you don't fall asleep before putting out the candle!
“Bookworm’s Delight” – get a tote bag and put in it a CD player along with a relaxing CD (this will help you tune out any disruptive noise around you), a book or magazine you want to read but never have time for, and perhaps a small snack, like a favourite chocolate bar (gotta love chocolate!) or some trail mix, and keep this in the car or by the door for when you end up waiting for kids after school, or at a doctor’s office.
There are lots of other ways you can utilize frustrating moments to re-charge your batteries. Just use your more lucid moments to think about what you'd rather be doing, and get it ready for the next time!
Darlene Hull
About the Author
Darlene Hull is an ordinary, imperfect mom who sees her mission as helping moms look after themselves so that they can better look after their families. She is married to Tom and has two children – Simon (12) and Christina (11) whom she home schools.
Darlene Hull is the creator of the free “Mom-Defrazzler tool - 52 Tips for Moms to get from Chaos to Calm in One Year” and the “Merry Moms” newsletter, a weekly humour e-zine to help moms defrazzle with laughter.
You can download this tool and newsletter on her website at www.mom-defrazzler.com .
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