what do you do for "me" time?

Over the last few years as the workload has become more demanding, I have found myself drawn to books which are visually delightful and therefore easy to escape within, leaving me with a sense of calm inspiration and resolve.  Perhaps it's just a season in my reading life and it won't be long before I can devour more literary books with enthusiasm.  But for right now I am drawn to the otherness of people's lives.  Not that I wish to live vicariously or covet their life, as I am content in my own, but it does make me feel at a very basic level that I have experienced life outside of my own boundaries which I hope broadens my thinking in some small way.  Quite frankly, watching the evening news brings enough horror and brokenness, I think it's important to temper the input.  Even if it is just for 15 minutes over a cuppa.

These are my current top reads:

My favourite sections of this book are the ones which detail her daily household routine.  Lots of beeswax, lavender, lemon and fresh herbs involved....you can smell the elegant industriousness.  Jane is a hard worker,  not a lady of leisure, swanning around her Chateau sipping from crystal champagne flutes.  Although she does have a delightful terrace to do exactly that at the end of the day when all work is done.

For a bit of light reading, this is doing the trick nicely:

This book is completely different, but it totally works as it's written like a series of status updates from Eloisa's Facebook page.  I know that sounds horrendous and I usually abhor that truncated style of writing, but Eloisa James writes in evocative, humerous and sometimes poignant long paragraphs that are just what the doctor ordered.  Her exploits in Paris with her husband and children over the course of a year are pure escapism. You can pick it up, put it down and it's just as delightful.

These books that started my love of this travel/memoir genre in the first place:

Vicki is inspiring, stylish, hard-working and above all gracious.  She writes so invitingly, you can't help but feel as if you've found a kindred spirit.  If you haven't already read these and are in need of an injection of  joie de vivre I can't recommend them highly enough.  

So, back to skinny dipping in Lake Me....

Everyone needs some "me" time.   It all comes back to that oxygen mask style of parenting.  You know, when the flight attendants give out the instructions before a flight and instruct you to fit your own mask before those of your children.  Good advice.

 I was speaking with my beautiful friend Jenny over coffee yesterday and we were sharing the ups and downs of motherhood.  Jenny works for a charitable organisation and is a force to be reckoned with - a real mover and shaker.  However, she also faces the daily demands of two young children.  I'm sure we can all relate that when you're a task-oriented person, you can find the staccato rhythm of life with little children difficult to wrap your mind around.  Sometimes you just need to re-group.

How do you get "me" time, I asked?   I loved her answer.  Each year, as the Academy Awards approach, she goes to the movies {by herself if needs be, at 9pm in the evening} and watches every film which is up for an award.  She's a night owl so this works beautifully for her.  Isn't that a fantastic idea?  It's not taking anything away from her family, doesn't interfere with her much needed rest time and feeds her creative, visual outlet.  I would imagine it would give you lots to share with friends and family also.  I'm making a mental note to ask her for recommendations!

*******************************************

This needs has come into sharp focus as I wrestle with changes in our family dynamic as the children are getting older.  My afternoon yesterday was definitely in the sub-optimal category.  I'm trying to learn how to communicate with hormonal teenagers which, from what I gather, is a combination of non-verbal cues, guttural moans and occasional exclamations of encouragement lest their fragile spirits be crushed.  Never, ever must I question {raise an eyebrow*}, nag {this constitutes asking something exactly once} or lecture {lecturing comprises a conversation with more than one full stop}.  I must also not break promises {this is when a demand isn't met immediately and with full enthusiasm}.   So I grabbed all the non-hormonal humans in the family and we went out for frozen yoghurt**.  Problem solved.  Temporarily.  Sometimes a temporary reprieve is the best you can hope for that day.  

Then this from my FB page the day before:

Thank you Spotify for enabling me to weaponise Barry Manilow for the school run this morning. Got my sweet revenge for bad behaviour from the kids by playing "Mandy" over and over..... I'm thinking "Can't Smile Without You" for tomorrow morning. #don'tmesswithmama #manilowmagic

Frozen yoghurt and Barry Manilow - couldn't have guessed how much I would have appreciated them before this week.

Feel free to share what you do for "me" time.  You never know who you might enourage!

Love you more than Manilow Magic,

Meredy xo

* raising an eyebrow is my default facial position so this is proving problematic.
** when I say "we", I mean "them".  Having been off sugar for two and half months, I think I would have gone into anaphylaxis...do you know that some yoghurts have twice the amount of sugar as ice cream? Yikes.  Not judging...just feel duped.