How we have "Me Time" as Married Working Mothers

How?


Just do it!


1.  Get over the Guilt of wanting to have "me time"...

2.  Next, once you've convinced yourself that you absolutely deserve and NEED this time - PLAN.  This is one we can't escape.  Although I wish all of the planning would be done for me sometimes, the daily routine of life falls on us so it's imperative that we make the necessary steps to make "me time" happen. From deciding what to do and where to go to organising the children and husband.  So we Plan.

And that's it.  It's that simple.  In just two simple steps you could be on your way to enjoying "me time" by yourself or with your girlfriends.


Candilaria and Tiffany's "Me Time"...

Tiffany and I decided that we needed "me time".  We have no qualms about feeling that we deserve it. Nope.  None at all.

It's "Me O'clock"

We planned to become tourists in our own country and embarked on a journey to Blue Lagoon Island.  It had been years and years since either of us had visited the island and were super stoked.


At 8:30 a.m. on a beautiful day we boarded the Dolphin Encounter boat - with some challenges getting there of course but nonetheless we made it.

Top Left - Our view from the boat.;
Top Right - Our first "Usie" for the day
Bottom Left - Tiffany and I with our drinks and bartender, David;
Bottom Right - We rigged up a little morning drink. Nothing like a Mimosa to kick off the day!

Welcome to Blue Lagoon!  We picked an awesome spot to cop a squat.  We lounged, we explored, we talked, we laughed, we swam, we read, we slept.  It was a perfect day.

Our colourful cups that contained the right kind of drink we needed and allowed us to have those "sweet naps" throughout the day :) 

We were having such a great time, somehow we missed our boat back. Hmmmm...not sure how that happened.  So what did we do?  Nothing.  We hung out some more. We ended up hitching a ride on the boat that transports the employees back and forth!

We topped the day off by meeting up with another absolutely fabulous Married Working Mother and the day "me time" turned into night "me time".  When I arrived home, my children were tucked in bed and fast asleep and my husband was very thankful for the day I had (wink wink).  And so was I.

Before I end this post I must share a story.  

While swimming/floating in the crystal clear waters at Blue Lagoon the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to a married woman happened.  I lost my wedding band! I felt it slip from my finger as we were swimming back to shore.  The terror on my face signalled to Tiffany that something was wrong. I became paralysed. After my freak out session, bystanders made their way over to us to see if they could assist.  A gentleman with the use of a Lifeguard's goggles dove in search for Mr. Thompson's wife's ONE good ring. Like so many women who lost their rings to the ocean I was hoping that I was the exception.  That my ring would be found.  And....

He found it!!!!!!!  Eric (pictured below) found my ring.  All was right with the world once again and I resumed to my "me time".

"Me Time" has become our favourite topic because we know how much we need it.  How much women need it.  As we mentioned during our presentation at The Pretty Brown Girl Bahamas Conference in May, we consider ourselves experts on the subject matter and we are here to show you how you can do it too!  We are here to help you. :) :)


How important are you to yourself?!  

Where are you on your own priority list? 

Make the time for you. Everyone around you including YOU will thank you for it. 



Signed, 

I (Heart) "Me Time", Candilaria

       

GUEST BLOG - MY STAYCATION

"In case there is a loss in cabin pressure, yellow oxygen masks will deploy from the ceiling compartment located above you.  To secure, pull the mask towards you, secure the elastic strap to your head, and fasten it so it covers your mouth and nose. Breathe normally.  Even if the bag does not inflate, please keep in mind that oxygen is flowing.  Please make sure to secure your own mask before assisting others."

Sounds familiar?

These few sentences are a part of an airline's pre-flight safety demonstration. Let's focus on the last sentence and most important portion of this entire paragraph: “Please make sure to secure your own mask before assisting others.” What, you might ask, does this have to do with a blog for MWMs? Let me share my thoughts with you.

As MWMs, sight is often lost of the fact that we are also women, truth be told, that is all that we really are at our core.  We are WOMEN - women who happen to be Married, who happen to be Working and who also happen to be Mothers.  These are some pretty heavy roles and we are courageous for wearing so many hats (please pop your collar at this point).

Securing our masks before assisting others is important and as MWMs we often spend ourselves assisting everyone else and often times we neglect to secure or own proverbial mask.  What do I mean by this? And how do we secure everyone else's mask first?  We take time to focus on the needs of our immediate family, the house, the dog, the cat, our parents, our in-laws, our church family, our coworkers, our friends, our various civic and community groups, and the list goes on and on.  We ensure that everyone else's mask is secured first, before ours.  And then we look around for our masks when we are already dog tired and unable to assist ourselves.

How many of us really take time to focus on resting, relaxing and rejuvenating our bodies (and by rest I don't just mean sleep),. 

 Inspired by Tiffany’s staycation and empowered by my loving husband, Jevon – I decided to plan my very own staycation so that I can “adorn the mask first”.  YES!  I decided that I should take time out for me – to rest, to relax and to rejuvenate and I did just that. 

This is my bag I packed then proceeded to run out of the house with before I changed my mind.

Driving to the Hilton, nervous and anxious but forging ahead nonetheless…

One weekend a few weeks ago I nervously packed my bags and even more nervously checked into the British Colonial Hilton Hotel BY MYSELF.  Nervously because this was the first time that I had ever done anything like this and I run guilt trips on myself – if you can believe that!  The random thoughts going through my mind on the Friday evening and into Saturday morning were “I should be home with my family” or “maybe my husband should’ve come with me” or “how are they making it without me”.  Needless to say, once I was able to relax and sit by the beach and soak in the experience – I … was … fine.  And you know what? My family was okay.  They held down the fort.  They were okay.  And so was I. 

Me…laying in the gorgeous…heavenly…cabana…curled up with a fabulous book!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my staycation and would encourage anyone who feels the need to rest, relax and rejuvenate to “adorn the mask first”.  It is a gift.  And I am all the better for it.

The awesome view from my room…

Gorgeous … heavenly … cabana!

I left the hotel that Sunday morning, feeling refreshed, reinvigorated and reenergized.  And this is all because I took the time to first adorn the mask to myself which enabled and continues to enable me to adorn the mask to others around me. 

The lesson for me in all of this was that I now know and accept that I too need to be taken care of and that there are times - even though my husband and family do an awesome job of taking care of me - that we really need to take care of ourselves, for ourselves. 

Headed out on Saturday afternoon!

So I have since committed to setting aside pockets of time each week – just for me.  And my family loves me for it!!! And I love me too!!!

Written By
Sandena Neely
Guest Blogger