Time Out

I, for one, am someone who has a hard time slowing down.

There…I said it.

It is hard for me to slow down, to not look at the things around that could be done or taken care of. I can always add to the to-do list, whether it is at home or out and about. Sometimes I like to trick myself into saying that taken a shower or sitting for 30 minutes and watching half a show on T.V. But seriously, we all know that those things don’t truly count in the space of “taking a time out”. And since I can’t sit still physically, my mind jumps right on that bandwagon and follows along for a good time.

Some people will blame personality types for this sort of thing. Some will just throw out a “that’s just who she is” out there. I blame a grandma who was ripping shingles off her shed in her 70’s because she just wasn’t going to wait around for other people.

I mean I do all the things possible to make myself so tired by the end of the day that I can no longer do anything and fall asleep in an almost comma-like state, but it never works. I work full time, I’m a mom, I’ve got involved kids I’m constantly with or running around, I run, I read in the evenings before bed, I spend as much time outside as possible and then there’s the prior mentioned problem that I never sit down. But that whole sleeping thing just doesn’t come easily or naturally at all for me.

I’m not someone who’s going to try to find sleep by drinking. It’s just never really been my thing. And I’ve had turns of using store bought over the counter remedies to mild success. I just can’t.

At some point when I’m done trying to fight for sleep, I just get up and start doing things since I’m already awake and then I’m right back to where I started with the not being able to slow down. I’m a hamster running on a wheel, and I’d like to get off and take a hard earned solid 8-hour dead to the world nap.

My kids are in middle school, and I’ve had breaks form them at various times, but typically it’s been a rare occasion overnight. Even if they are gone form home, I’m busy “doing”. I love them and they’re super great people and hanging out with them is great.

Recently I got an opportunity to go on a vacation without my kids. I got invited to leave the state, be gone for 5 days, adults only. The timing worked out good with work and kids’ activities business and I did it. They spent a couple days with grandma. I mean, their showering alone and making their own food and if you nudge one of them to get up in the morning, they are really self-sufficient.

5 days. I flew halfway across the country. I explored new places, found the coolest pub to have lunch, hiked so many miles in hunt of waterfalls, played in the ocean, tried coffee from as many little places as I could find and my stomach could handle, jumped on and off public transportation all day exploring a new city with another adult and not a child in sight. It was magical.

The whole time I didn’t have trouble sleeping. I didn’t need help to get me to sleep for a few hours. And I’ve been home for a couple weeks now and I haven’t needed any at all. Not once. So, while I was grateful for being given the opportunity to go on the trip, the reasons why keep growing.

While I adore my kids, now that we’re out of the “little kids” phase, maybe it’s better to get a true break from the all the daily stuff. I’m now a believer and I will preach this to anyone that will listen. That extra time away lets you really breathe and take a true reset that just an overnight doesn’t allow for. Then if you have to rip off shingles or some such thing you’ll be sleeping easy and ready to go.