Mom Outlet

I was part of this interview for a working mom article through a Moms Write group that I'm a part of earlier, and one of the questions stuck with me and came back up again later when I was talking to my sister. The question was about me time or as I posed the question to my sister the " mom outlet" activity.

The mom outlet to me is my lifeline. It's nothing in the hetic pace that is the working mom life to have a week or so that feels overwhelming, but there was a point where the weeks turned in months and eventually those months turned into over a year. I'm a control freak. I can handle feeling overwhelmed for a bit of time, but months on end can throw my life way out of balance.

One of the things I came to learn was I have to have balance. At least the majority of the time. It can tilt a little off balance from time to time, but I've come to see that too long off balance isn't just destructive to myself but it's like a ticking time bomb ready to explode and create casualties to those around me as well.

Those mom outlets are part of what pulls me back, and I'm all for supporting all mom choices and walks of life but I feel ALL moms need a mom outlet, something that is theirs. I grew up watching my mom enjoy her hobby of sewing, and I still remember her a few years back telling me I needed to find a hobby.  As I told my sister work projects and cleaning is NOT a qualifying mom outlet.  She escaped the big sister lecture of finding herself something that she does just for herself by reminding me that she reads pretty much on a daily basis.

I love to read too, but unfortunately, I tend to become so obsessed with books that I ignore the whole rest of my life-work, family, the house-to read nonstop for however long it takes me to read the whole book or series. I do read but only at particular times of the year when I can indulge in my obsessive way of reading. I also have the same habit with Netflix TV shows.

However, my other mom outlets work perfectly because they give me a bit of that me time almost daily but don't consume me for hours at a time. Both writing, exercising, and working on my photo books give me that bit of daily me time but don't take up much more than a half hour each, and I vary which one I do each day (except photo books if I get on a roll)   But when I do have the time I do love myself a reading or Netflix watching bingeathon..

Believe me there was a time I thought the idea of me time was maybe selfish, and it was not a priority on my list. It is a priority on my daily schedule now though, and I truly believe it has been huge in my search for balance and contentment. That is something again I think ALL moms, no matter their choices and lifestyles need to have in their lives. So, Moms, what's your mom outlet? I always love to hear the different things people enjoy doing to decompress.