Banana Mondays: Back to MOM

Banana Mondays are back! Jen at Absolutely Bananas is back with her monday writing prompts (and I'm soooo happy), and this week's theme is Back to MOM. Back to School stuff is EVERYWHERE these days, which lead Jen to wonder... well, back to school is great, but what are we doing for Back to MOM? In other words, what are we doing for ourselves, or what could we be doing to add a little bit of something to our lives that pampers us, powers us up, or just gives us a little pleasure? After all, a happy mom = a happy kid/family, right?

I think that in general I do pretty well. Since before I had my son, I knew that I was the kind of person that would always need 'me time', time to myself to just relax and decompress from the daily grind of motherhood. Lucky for me, I have a VERY understanding husband! In fact, I'm writing this post from my best friend's basement while she helps put the kiddos to bed, then we're heading out for a movie. Today I drove down to Seattle to go to my monthly book club meeting, which is something I do for myself once a month.

I manage to get out of the house by myself fairly often - it used to be once a week, and now it's probably once every two weeks for spending several hours alone reading or thinking. Since I live up north and work in Seattle, I get to have a sleepover every week at my best friend's house so I can go to work in Seattle the next morning and not have to drive from Bellingham. I also have an awesome Mom and new step-dad, and they love Sam too, which means that Justin and I actually get the opportunity to go out together at least once or twice a month. Reading this, it seems like maybe I am a little pampered. But the truth is, we need this time. I need time to be ME, not be a mom, just be myself. And as a couple, we need time to concentrate on our marriage and our relationship. Neither of us ever wants to find ourselves in a place where all of our focus is on work and kids, and we forget to focus on each other and grow apart. We've known since before we got married that it requires work, and part of that is making a very conscious effort to stay connected.

One thing I am going to start doing FOR ME is exercising more. You can see on my other blog, Unconventional Fear, a little bit about my struggle with being overweight and what's happening. I just joined the gym my Mom goes to, and my goal is to go 3-4 times a week. This is something that I am doing for myself to get healthier, but also will let me be a better and more active Mom for my little boy.

What are you doing for YOURself today?