The excitement of summer after a pandemic brings so many opportunities. Now that we've gotten the hang of living with the new normal, I feel that I can finally be around my favorite people, travel, and cross items off my summer bucket list. Despite all of this freedom to head out to events in our town and discover restaurants again in the city, I’m having a hard time letting go of some of the slowness of last summer. When the world is saying, “Go, go, go, everything is wide open,” I just want to stay close and keep it simple.
With a newfound take on the simple pleasures of small activities like taking my kids to the children’s museum, watching movies with homemade popcorn, and heading to the pool from sun up to sun down, I’m finding that we don't need much to keep our family happy and entertained all summer long. In the midst of all of this fun, I’m also realizing how important it is to fight for my “me time” so that I don't become sucked up with constant activity, and to feed my introverted needs.
I learned so much about myself last year, and many of the lessons shocked me
My biggest takeaway from all the time spent at home was that I didn't value my alone time enough before the pandemic. Before the pandemic, I was able to use my commute as a quiet break twice a day, I was able to work from home a couple of days a week and work in silence, I was even able to escape to Target to walk around with my iced tea if I wanted some mindless shopping.
That all changed during the pandemic. Just like all of us, I was now responsible for being the teacher, chef, playground monitor, and more for my family as we were relegated to the confines of our home and backyard, only getting out for daily walks to the park. I noticed that my physical space was a combination of home and work life, and I was allowing my work day to bleed over into my personal time. I was constantly stimulated.
As an extreme introvert, I needed quiet time to think, to relax, to let my ideas and thoughts develop, and to recharge. Now that we have access to the world at large, I don't want to lose sight of this need for my personal and mental well-being.
If I'm not taking care of myself, I can't be a good mother
I'm prioritizing my mental well-being and self-care this year, so I took note of all of the differences between this summer and last summer. I'm paying attention to these lessons so that I can truly come out of the pandemic with something positive.
I'm making big changes to get my personal time
There are three main actions I’m implementing to fight to keep my “me time” as the world reopens.
When I’m seeing notices for our town’s citizen appreciation day, food truck festivals, waterparks opening up around us, I start to plan out our events for the summer. In my planner, I am also taking note of busy weeks and weekends and marking on my schedule times when I will most likely need a quiet day or few hours. If I put it on my calendar, then I can figure out the logistics when the time comes.
Secondly, I’m still working from home, but now that my children are back in daycare, I have the time to finish my work in my normal hours and don't need to log back in after bathtime. This has freed up my evenings to spend quality family time and have a little time to read or rest after the kids are in bed and before I go to bed.
I'm also finally acknowledging out loud that I need more quiet time than I thought. I prefer to work with limited noise. I even enjoy riding in the car in silence. It's soothing to me. It calms me. Reading relaxes my mind. Watching my favorite show without also doing laundry and multitasking revives me.
In trying to do all and be all, I was neglecting what I needed
Now that I can finally say it out loud and with confidence, knowing that I’m a better person with it, I can actually get it. Because I don't get or change what I can't acknowledge, ask for, and advocate for. And that's a lesson I'll never forget again.
