Finding Time for Rest & Relaxation

Any single parent is bound to tell you that it is difficult to fit in time for yourself or something other than child-related activities.  I assure you that I am no different.  When you get the chance though, I highly recommend taking it, as you do not know when you are going to get an opportunity again.  With my parents in town for the holidays, I definitely made good use of a few hours away from cleaning and making meals that will only be half eaten.

I had my annual physical this week and my physician told me that my blood pressure is slightly elevated.  I am already taking the necessary precautions to ensure it does not get any worse, but with a high stress job on top of being a single parent, I knew this was coming.  My physician asked me what I do for rest and relaxation; exercise and writing in this blog is all that I could come up with.  After the girls came back home last summer, I quit my Dungeons & Dragons groups after a session each and stopped playing Star Wars Armada altogether when they are here; I felt like a bad parent even leaving them to watch a movie for a few hours, which just stressed me out even more.  My Monday morning runs during Army Physical Readiness Training are really the only alone time that I have been getting.  Thanks to my parents, I was finally able to get in a relaxation activity to recuperate a little.

My stepdad is a big golfer and has wanted to get me back on the links for some time.  At his insistence, which I thanked him for later, he took me out to the Pueblo del Sol Country Club for a quiet round of golf while the girls got to spend some quality time with Grandma.  It did not matter how I hit the ball or what my final score was, but I needed this.  I needed some time just to not think about cleaning, the next meal, or how I was going to educationally-entertain the girls.  As a single parent, it is tough to admit when you need some “you” time, but we all do.  I appreciate my stepdad recognizing this and stepping in to make it so.

Thanks for checking in on us.  I assure you that the next post will be more upbeat (Snow Day!).

Cheers!