From the moment you become a mom, it seems like your motor can never stop. It begins with midnight diapers and goes on to homework, soccer practice, band camp, and watching curfew. There is never time to slow down.
For the busy mom, it is important to figure out how to rebuild your stores of energy so that you can keep up with all the things your kids need you to do. That includes not just your physical energy but also your physical condition and your mental state. If you pay close attention to these, you’ll be able to maintain your Super Mom routine. If not, you’ll find yourself tired, frustrated, and irritable, and your family will suffer as well.
First, you’ll want to take care of your physical needs with your demanding schedule. As we age, things change with our bodies. Everything from our joints to our circulation isn’t what it used to be, so it is important to take care of those things. Therafirm offers a line of compression socks that does just that when you’re on the go, providing comfortable but stylish socks and stockings that will be easy on your body even as they make you look great.
Next, get some exercise. It may sound backwards to say that more activity creates more energy, but it’s true. In between all the commitments of school-age kids, find a time to load up and take a hike together. It can make an incredible difference in your mental state, and the exercise will help you lose weight, lower blood pressure, and feel more energetic for the rest of the day’s endeavors. As a bonus, it will help the kids go to bed earlier!
Speaking of sleeping, make sure that you get good rest too. Those hours are the times when you are least likely to be interrupted with the demands of parenting, so make the most of them. Invest in a good mattress will help you get the most hours of body-soothing sleep, helping you get up in the morning with the ability to pick up where the previous day left off. And as tempting as the bed may be for some catch-up time on social media, leave the screens alone until morning.
Another great strategy is to find a way to make a daily routine into something enjoyable. There is something about making those activities fun that takes the work out of doing work. Teach the kids how to do certain cleaning tasks, yard work, and even decoration, and then find a way to make a game of it. See if you can make a competition out of folding laundry or raking leaves. Not only will the kids help you get some work done, you will also have a different viewpoint on those daily needs that is a little more fun and a little less drudgery.
Finally, don’t forget to be an adult sometimes. We can get so caught up in all the essential activities of our kids that we neglect our adult lives. We lose touch with friends, costing us that adult interaction that we need. It is so important to come up for air once in a while, and you need adult time to do that.
Go out with friends. Go to a concert, a play, or a museum. Don’t go shopping; you’ll spend the whole time looking at things for your kids and you’ll miss the entire point.
Raising kids is a great responsibility. To keep up, we have to take care of our bodies and minds. Keep that perspective and you’ll find your stress levels will be lower and your happiness will be higher.