Is “me time” in motherhood a myth?  I believe it depends greatly upon how we define “me time.”  For example: Does “me time” in motherhood mean a quick uninterrupted shower, a night out with your best girlfriends, or both?  Does it mean relinquishing your role as mom if only for an evening to enjoy a quiet dinner with your husband?  Does it even include the husband?  Is “me time” something you specifically schedule or do you just take it as it comes?  And if you don’t schedule it, do you ever get it?  Does “me time” make you happy?

While I feel it is undoubtedly one of the most important things we can give ourselves as mothers, I personally find it stressful to specifically set aside “me time” throughout the day.  I’ve learned along the way that trying to fit in “me time” and “friend time” and “husband time” somehow tends to make me crazier than I already am.  I’ve found I’m more of a go with the flow kinda gal.  Do I enjoy time to myself?  Absolutely!  I just feel more comfortable not scheduling it.  In fact, I try to enjoy “me time” every day even if it’s only for a minute or two or ten.  Don’t laugh, but flipping through a magazine, taking a nice walk through the neighborhood with my kids, getting up a bit early and doing some yoga before they wake, these are all ways I mentally recharge and fit in my time.  It might not be ideal or long enough, but it helps tremendously.

The key for me is to find those natural lulls in the day to reconnect with myself.  When the kids are napping, playing on their own finally!, when I’m chopping veggies for dinner or chatting with a neighbor.  The point being that getting “me time” does not have to be about stepping out of my role as a mother.  It can be, but luckily for me it doesn’t have to be.

What are some of the ways you fit in “me time”?