Saving...I received this from a wonderful Plane Jane (who also wrote for us {here} and {here}). The Youth Development side of me cheered when I got this. I am a huge YMCA fan-they do it all and they do it well.
Ever have one of those days where you wake up to your children doing something things that are not really bad, but really annoying things, and you just really truly wish you were somewhere else or could just have a day away? You read a lot in various mom’s blogs and articles for stay at home moms on the importance of taking time for yourself. For the wife of a traveling husband, this is even more critical. For me, my oldest has stopped napping, so if we are home the only break I get from the kids is when they go to bed. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children more than anything, but that much time with 2 preschoolers and a baby is exhausting.
Since we don’t live anywhere near family and asking anyone who isn’t related to them to watch 3 kids seems like a huge thing to ask, I can’t really just take a few hours and go out with friends or even run errands alone. The one thing I have stuck with though, is our YMCA membership that comes with babysitting. And it’s good babysitting, with people who will feed them and change them and won’t just immediately come get me if the baby or 2-year-old decides to throw a fit when I leave. They know how to work with kids and will distract them and actually take care of them for up to 3 hours as long as I stay on site. The longest I’ve ever used them is an hour and a half, but man do I need it. Granted, exercising isn’t always the most relaxing form of time to yourself, since it’s still “work” in its own way. But the hours I spend running or walking on the track each week are my sanity saver. When I was pregnant, I would swim for an hour and then take a shower ALL BY MYSELF. And they’re Y showers, so it’s no day spa, but man, to me it was the best shower in the world. When the baby was born, I dreaded the six weeks before he was old enough that they would watch him and if there’s a week or even a few days where one of the kids is sick and we can’t go, I can tell that I haven’t had that alone time. I’m shorter with my temper, considerably more irritable and just overall cranky.
Recently, my husband and I are looking at tightening our budget to pay some stuff off. Looking at our budget, one of the immediate things (aside from the outrageous amount we pay for cable) that jumps out as discretionary spending is our Y membership. And my first thought was well, I guess that should probably go. But then I thought about that for more than 5 minutes and realized there is NO WAY I can give up my ME TIME! We all need to find some way to have me time and we have to stick up for it. Whether that means telling our husbands no to a phone call one night a week, getting someone to watch the kids for a few hours or paying for a membership we can’t really afford and finding a way to pay for it somehow. Me time is important for all moms, but for me, I think it’s the difference between sanity and my husband coming home to find me babbling like Goldie Hawn in Overboard (This video kills me every time!!).
The Y has a cool finder app {here}
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Hey Military Moms, the Y has a special program for you! Check it out!
Military Outreach Initiative and Respite Child Care
Deployment can be a stressful and uncertain time for our nation’s servicemen and women and their families. In partnership with the Armed Services YMCA and the Department of Defense, the Y is proud to offer memberships and respite child care services to eligible military families and personnel to give them extra support during this difficult period. It’s our way of giving back to those who dedicate themselves to serving our country.
Find out if your local YMCA is participating!
