Maintaining Your Glow

If your a mama of a newborn, have multiple kids, work at a job, taxi your kids around town, have an empty nest, or your pets are your kids, whoever you are, you need to maintain your glow. You have your own life which includes a few or MANY people, balancing schedules, appointments, and things that usually put other people around you first, which is healthy and all part of life. But what happens when you forget to maintain who you are? What happens when all the other people in your life are more important, because let's face it, sometimes they are. But those little things that you used to do to maintain yourself, getting your hair done, going for a jog, finding worth at work if you're a stay at home mom, all these things that you used to value and feel valued in, somehow disappear. Let's talk about why this happens, how we can avoid the "how did I get here" breakdown and how to maintain this lifestyle of balance in a life of chaos and distractions.

I never went to university, but I always found my way into amazing jobs that I loved (all except one... I'm not perfect) and found myself, before getting pregnant with Jackson, in a job that I loved. I felt valued there, and I thrived on that. I worked hard, hustled around while pregnant running clinics and that was my fuel. I was lucky to be able to work one day a week after my mat leave was finished, and worked there until I moved to Calgary. Quickly after we moved I got pregnant with Maddox, and have been a full time stay at home mom since. I love it, I love how during the FROZEN winter months I can laugh at all the suckers having to find their way to work at 6 AM under feet of snow in -30 degree weather while I look out my window with a hot cup of coffee. That may sound a little dark, but I've been told I can be cold so I'm just going to embrace it - its a nice advantage! However, now that my kids are a little older, some days I feel a little more like just a maid or house cleaner. Some days I look back with longing at the days where I used to work, have a life outside the home and feel more valued. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond appreciated at home by my Hubs and I am reminded every day how lucky I am. I know I will never regret staying home with the kids and I find value IN EVERY DAY. Not all day every day, but every day. But we still lose our spark! We lose us sometimes.

This last month Hubs and I took our first trip without the boys and left with them with their grandparents for three nights. We paid for it after with the boy’s behaviour but I realized quickly how much we needed to get away. We've been on one-night trips a few times which help, but I can't stress enough how important it is to have one or two or MORE full days, start to finish, just for yourself and/or your spouse. Waking up to care for only yourself, go to bed without dealing with diapers and rash creams. I know as well as anyone how tough it can be to get away... we've had to wait over five years! Guys - we waited too long. Book your trip, beg your in-laws like we did, and take that trip. You need it.

Now we all know we can’t go on trips monthly(or most of us cant), so let's go over a few things you can do in the meantime to help maintain that glow and shine that makes you radiant! I am someone who is high stress, I wish this wasn't the case, but Hubs gets home and I am stressed from the day. I need to unwind like I've been at a day of work. Maybe I'm alone in this, but that's the way I am. One way we've been able to balance out is Hubs gets home from work, showers, comes and takes over with the boys. He usually cooks because lets face it, you don't want to eat my food, and either I go out in the evening, we do something as a family, or depending on the day, I excuse myself for a bath, face mask, glass of wine, closet tidy (because that brings me joy) or whatever I need to make me feel me again. I find that after an hour to myself with some bubbles and a glass of wine, I feel like I'm ready to come out and be a mom again. It took me a while to accept the fact that this was something I not only wanted but needed. And the sad part is how long it took for me to learn that about myself.

Now, I am still on my journey. I've had a few revelations lately about the person I used to be, the workouts I used to get in, how I used to push myself so hard and how soft I've been lately which I don't like. I've given myself excuses and now I look at myself and I wonder where pre-Maddox me went. But that's ok... us mamas/women are all on this life journey of finding how to balance it all, discovering how we find joy and relaxation and how to maintain it.

I challenge you to sit down and look through old habits - some you're probably happy to have left behind, some you'll be shocked you've forgotten. Make changes in your life if your an overwhelmed mama like me and need to allocate time to be yourself. Some of you may have been through his already and are balancing well, some may think I'm absolutely crazy unorganized and can't believe I feel overwhelmed with only two kids, however, some may be lost in the journey like me. SO if this is you, go find your favorite lipstick, draw yourself an overbubbled bath and enjoy your favorite beverage feeling fabulous and rested - you deserve it! Make this a habit and do what you need to do to maintain that gorgeous glow.