2 of 73

Write now Article Tools

Mother's Day should be every day or at least whenever she needs some alone-time. As a young mother of three boys; two years apart, my hands were full! As a working mother, had I not been organized, it would have been quite chaotic for all of us. They are now adults; if you ask them how I did all that I did - they will tell you it was almost impossible!

My middle son now has six children of his own. He is constantly telling me: "Mom, I don't know how you did it! Your house was always clean, we always looked neat, you came to our school functions, had time to take us out to dinner, as well as to go to school." Basically, he is saying "thank you" for his upbringing.

I share this information because in order to do what I did; I had to constantly take time off from the childrearing to be with myself. Initially, I did feel guilty because it meant leaving them with someone else, and as they became teens - they were left alone.

All mothers need "mommy time," in order that they can "keep their sanity!" If you watch the news; you will have seen mothers who have killed their infant children, and that is more than the norm nowadays. I don't remember that ever happening when I was a child or a mother. Because we live in such stressful times; every Mommy needs to take a "breather" away from the family.

Not all husbands will understand why Mommy needs this time, and sometimes this will pose another problem. If the spouse is against it; I recommend that you use the following:

1) Give him articles to read on the necessity of quiet time
2) Discuss it with your family doctor, and ask the doctor to speak with him
3) If he has a male family member or good friend; tell them to mention the importance of the wives having time to spend with each other or alone.

My idea of quiet time was to go to a matinee movie alone. When I first started, my friends did not understand why I wanted to go alone; however, they all began following the same form of entertainment. Now that our children are grown; we still incorporate this into our lifestyle.

Then, there were times when we would take all of the children to one house where all of the men would be watching sports on television. We would all go on a shopping spree or out to lunch. That would give us time to "dump" our problems about our children as well as about the spouses.

Those Mommies who take time out for themselves, in my opinion, make the best mothers because they are not stressed out; they do not take it out on the children or spouse, and they are like the Energizer battery - they just keep on going!

In order for mothers to be able to raise children now; they must spend time away from the family. It is my recommendation that they do this at least once per month - even if it is just to go to the hairdresser, the nail shop, or the health spa. The benefits to the family will be long-term; you want your adult children to be able to say, "Thank you, Mommie... How did you do it?" As you smile; you know it was the time that you spent away from them!

Learn more about this author, Gloria Edmonson Nelson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Taking "mommy time" without feeling guilty?
We want to hear your view. Write now!