Give 358: Top 5 Ways to Give Yourself a Break!
Giving can include a give to yourself, what I call Give Yourself a Break. I am a new Mom for the second time exactly one week ago today (Day 353). I also have my own business part time and I blog every day. I am struggling right now with what I am not getting done. Today I decided to make my daily give to myself. I am giving myself a break.
Day 358: Give 358
This crazy thing I call my life.
The Adoption: Journey 1 
My adoption journey started 8 years ago with an abandon dog named Brooklyn. Brooklyn was a year old and won our hearts over instantly. Without knowing it we adopted the “problem child.” At the 6 month mark I had a break down as I was reasonable for the training, walking, feeding and scheduling of this dog. I was shocked at the amount of work it took and how much time out of my busy day. After 1.5 of training and the dog and myself, I was ready to take on adoption #2.
The Adoption: Journey 2
A second dog, this time a rescue puppy. Mackenzie was so cute but once again SO MUCH WORK!. This time after just 6 weeks I had yet another breakdown as my life changed again to accommodate our newest family member. Once again I got trained as well as our second dog Mackenzie.
The Adoption: Journey 3
Then the day came we wanted a child. My husband and I were not able to have children via the natural birth process and adoption was the route we wanted to take. We strongly believe that there are children right here in Canada that needed a home. We were soon blessed with our first child. A baby boy 4 years ago. I was in heaven and also in for the shock of my life. I was working full time running my business (no maternity leave for small business owners) and commuting from Vancouver to Toronto. I never missed a beat. I went into full time Mommyhood running and never stopped. No nanny, no day care. I wanted to raise my children and I did it but I never gave myself a break. With only an occasion breakdown I was ready for number 2.
The Adoption: Journey 4
Number 2 has arrived. Our second son took a little more time, a little more waiting, a lot more stress but he is home and I don’t want to miss even a second of my life with him. After even just a few days of trying to do it all – Mom of 2, wife, in house dog walker, cleaner, chef and daily blogger, tweeter / Facebook fan I am giving myself a break.
Top 5 Ways to Give Yourself a Break.
1) Don’t make you computer the first thing you do in the morning. Read the paper, have a coffee, mediate, or journal. Have breakfast with your kids and tell them you love them. Take the time to be grateful for the day ahead.
2) Exercise: Give your body a break from the desk and go move it. For 30 minutes you can walk, run, do stairs or hit a class. Give yourself a body break.
3) Take quality time with your kids. Running your kids to school, programs, sports or play dates is not quality time. Stop and take the time to talk to them, play with them personally, cuddle with them and let them know how much you love them.
4) Let it go for just one day. Leave the laundry, let the grass grow, miss a garbage day, vacuum tomorrow, order take out for dinner. Don’t try to do the entire “to do” list in one day.
5) Celebrate what you do get done not what you don’t. Be proud of every accomplishment. Stop beating yourself up for all the never ending tasks that didn’t get done for the day.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Dalai Lama
I am just days away to completing 365days of giving. I try not to miss a day for anything but I can’t do it all. 365give is my passion for my children but I can’t sacrifice time with them to blog, tweet and FB. I will get my final “gives” done when I can and I will give myself a break if I don’t post every day.
Giving yourself a break is so important. Stopping to smell the roses shouldn’t be just a saying. Life goes by so fast remember remember to let it be just once in a while.
Time Commitment: 5 – 30 minutes a day
Cost: 0