self - care for moms - part 1

Self-Care for Moms, Part 1 
Why mom needs to do her "thing."
By Andrea Fox
First published on March 24, 2014 in Imperfect Mothers – Psychology Today.

An article on The Onion made its way around the Internet recently. Titled Mom’s Got her Thing Tonight, it struck the funny bones of moms everywhere. Briefly, it’s a spoof on a mom heading out to get some alone time—to do her thing. The kids have no idea what that thing actually is, or how long she’s been doing it. They only know that when mom comes home from doing her thing she’s in a good mood, and—most importantly—dinner’s in the fridge.

I had a good laugh at this, as did many of my mom-friends. It’s “been there; done that” funny. How many of us have gone out to do something for ourselves, but not before leaving instructions, a clean soccer uniform, and a crockpot chili?  It’s also “nervous laugh” funny. The family is completely oblivious to what thing mom is doing; it’s ludicrous—and then we realize, oh right, my family doesn’t know what my thing is either.

Read More