Self-Care in the Summer

It is a huge challenge to find time for myself during the summer. The simplicity of school dropoffs and pickups, where there were opportunities for alone-time, are gone. Now, I have a shadow who is asking a steady stream of questions from morning until night. There's not much time to think let alone stare at a wall. After days of spinning my wheels on ways I can find alone time, I have figured out a few workarounds to this problem. 

1. Get a root canal- Nothing allows for much needed peace and quiet than having someone filling your numbed mouth with metal. To drown out the sound of the drill, just turn on a really great podcast. Try not to listen to anything too emotional (ie Invisibilia) like I did. The dentist will mistake your misty eyes for responses to discomfort. Your mouth will be too full of dental tools to be able to explain that you're just feeling a lot of intense emotions. 

2. Go to the gym- All year long, you may have been avoiding the gym at all costs. Now that schools out, you're taking full advantage of the YMCA's free daycare and working towards running a 5k. 

3. Make an appointment with your therapist- It has been awhile since you've had a chance to catch up with your therapist. Now's a great time to schedule back to back sessions. You can talk about yourself while your kid plays with therapeutic toys in the next room over. It's a win/win

4. Schedule your annual checkup- The last time you had your cholesterol checked was before your kids were born. It's about time you got this done. You may have been able to do this any other time in the past six years, but right now just really feels like the right time to get that figured out.

All of these afford great opportunities for you to find time away from your kids. It's just an added bonus that you're getting all your self-care (that you've been putting off for the past nine months) taken care of. It's good for your sanity and your relationship with your kid.