Time For Myself

I spent nearly 1/3 of the first quarter of 2009 in hotels. Easter weekend 2009 was my first weekend at home in over two months; I’ve been traveling a lot talking to child care providers and parents about early learning and about investing time in their own care and wellbeing. I’ve met many inspiring, energetic, passionate, and dedicated expert caregivers over the last few months and they have invigorated me professionally. I love speaking and enjoy the travel, but I have to admit I was really looking forward to a three day weekend at home.

It was wonderful. I started renovating my woodworking shop, which meant ripping out walls and making five trips to the dump to dispose of the debris. It was hard work, but it was fun. I also had time to go for a long bike ride, covering 20 miles of local bike paths on a beautiful spring day. Feeling the warm sun on my skin as I peddled along was exhilarating. On Easter Sunday I got to encourage my nieces to sneak candy when their mom was not looking, let them play with our pet turtle, allowed them to run in the house, and did everything I could to rile them up before sending them home. I love working with kids, but I have to admit they can be a lot more entertaining after a couple glasses of good wine. It was fun to ignore some of the rules, regulations, and expectations we have in our child care program; fun to be a bit more wild and goofy; fun to not be a professional role model for a little while.

I also went on a date with my wife, Tasha. To the post office. To apply for passports. It was not a fancy date, but it was fun to spend a bit of time together on something not related to children or child care. I invited her to go to the dump with me a couple of times, but she declined. I guess the idea of two dates in one weekend was just more than she could handle.

In addition to all this, I found some time to read, I ignored my email and computer, and I did some writing.

As you can see, I am not only a real romantic guy, I am also a real boring guy. Most of my first weekend to my self in months was spent running errands, working in my garage, and peddling around on my bike. I am not a wild and crazy guy by a long shot.

So, what’s the point of sharing a boring sketch of my much needed but mildly mundane weekend at home? The point is that I loved and savored every second of it. It felt good. It was refreshing, invigorating, and enjoyable. It recharged me physically and mentally. The intense physicality of the demolition and bike riding is something I don’t get enough of as a family child care provider, speaker, and author. Just being an uncle instead of an Early Care and Education Professional was also a pleasant change from my usual routine.

Now, I have to ask, when was the last time you took a three day weekend for yourself? When was the last time you made time to engage in activities you enjoy? When was the last time you took off your Early Care and Education Professional hat for a few days? When was the last time you devoted an extended hunk of time to doing something for yourself?

If it has been a while, I have to tell you, you need to try it. I make a bit of time for myself everyday and I work really hard to assure that I manage my stress well, but I have to tell you the big glob of unscheduled free time I got last weekend was special and you should try it out if you haven't done so for a long time.

I know the excuses: “I don’t have time”, “I feel selfish taking time for myself”, “There is so much work to do”, “There is a grant proposal due on Monday”, “I feel guilty”. I also know that some of you need permission to take care of yourself.

Well, take a deep breath and forget about all those things. Be a little selfish, let go of the guilt, and make the paperwork wait. If you need permission to take care of yourself, I herby grant it. Get out your calendar right now and schedule some time for yourself.