As parents, we sometimes have a hard time taking a break without feeling guilty. With school ending this week, I decided I would take a vacation and prepare myself for a busy summer. Not a full-time vacation just a few hours off in the morning and a light writing schedule. I figured this week I would drop Tyler off at school and instead of taking my morning walk and then commencing with my work, I would drop him off and then take a two-hour nap. Then get up and work for two hours, have lunch and chill. I figured it was a good week to gear down. Two articled due on the 25th are already in my editor’s email box. Another one due June 4 is in first draft status. Thursday and Friday the kids get out at 11:50 so no sense in starting to work when I will have to end it so quickly.
But guess what, although I took the nap yesterday, I felt guilty when I woke up. I felt like I should have been doing something. Two hours wasted when I could have been doing laundry, planning meals or organizing Tyler’s books. This morning I woke up feeling like I wasn’t going to take a break then I said, “No I deserve a break!”.
One of the main reasons I decided to take a break is because I was feeling run down. But when making the decision to actually go forward with my plans I feel like chickening out. It’s like this article I saw on Yahoo! that said burned out employees with vacation time often won’t take it. When I first read it I thought, that’s stupid. But I realize that, in a sense, I am a burned out worker with time to take and I’m too stupid to take it!
I’ve said it before but let me say it again, you have to take care of yourself first or you’ll be of no consequence to anyone if you’re run down. So parents take care of yourself first. If you’re a stay-at-home parent, take some time right now to relax before the kids get out of school. Trust me, you’re going to need to have your batteries recharged.
See also:
Sneaking Me Time Into Your Day