I read a quote once that changed my view on life. As a young mother I thought that I had to be selfless 100% of the time, every single day. My time was for helping my children, cleaning up after my children, providing for my children, feeding my children, and making my house look presentable all of the time. The problem with this attitude is that I began to resent my children, my house and my life which is exactly opposite of what I was trying to accomplish.

Even though what I wanted most of all was to be a mother, I would always dream about vacations where I could just be me and do what I wanted. Then I read the quote, “Create a life you don’t need a vacation from.” That was it! I wanted to love my life so much that I didn’t need to leave it for something else.

I made a list of what I love to do on vacation. My vacation list includes: sitting by the beach, walking on a beautiful trail, drinking hot chocolate around the campfire in the mountains, trying a new cafe, soaking up some sun on the veranda, wrapping up with a blanket and a book, and exploring all the sites. Now I do one of these “vacation” things every single day. Of course I don’t live by the beach, but I live by a river, and it is quite beautiful. And we’ve got trails, paved trails, dirt trails, hiking trails, dirt road trails. So, I go walking. Again, my patio, though not a veranda, is really quite peaceful and perfect for soaking up the sun. I can sit outside and breathe the fresh air. I also don’t live in the mountains but I do have a fire pit. Do you get my vision?

This idea has become my coping mechanism. I can handle the cleaning and the cooking and the working and actually really enjoy it, if I get to do a little something for me, too. So, now I plan this time into my days, time for me. Sometimes I wake up really early, stay up too late and usually share my time with someone else to get it into my schedule, which makes it even better. Sometimes my time is only five minutes with a book but that five minutes can rejuvenate my soul. Is it selfish? Maybe, but I sure am happier, get less stressed, have more of myself to give away to my children, and feel like I am a better wife and mom because of my time. Now I’m not looking to run away from my life to find some sanity (though I do still love to vacation) but instead make it a priority to do something I love, every, single, day.