Public Holiday

As a stay-at-home Mom for 20 years, I have always struggled with weekends and public holidays - I have often complained that I work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Holiday time for me is when I leave my house, travel with Ivan, go on holiday with the children or have some time away with my friend. I am never not working when I am home and if I take time out to just indulge me - it is just that an indulgence.

Now yesterday was a public holiday and the children had the day off school. Elizabeth worked in the morning, but I took the day off. It was only last night as I was heading to bed that I realised that I had completely taken the day off. This was a first. I had still done a load of washing, washed the dishes, fed my children but in my head I had the day off.

I spent the day scrapbooking, I sat in front of my computer for most of the day - creating journalling boxes, decorating my album and indulging my passion for my hobby. I did not think about all the chores I had to do, I did not feel as though I was letting anyone down and I did not feel like I was 'indulging me!' I was just taking a public holiday.

What was the difference, I don't really know, but now that I have experienced this, I know that I will be able to do it again. I will allow myself to take a day off on a weekend to relax and not fill it with all the things that have to be done. I will not feel guilty about not achieving all the things that are always going to be there for me to do. I am allowed to live a 'normal' not a Superwoman life.

I can stay at home and have a public holiday or a weekend and I also realise that I can allow Ivan to do the same. So many of our weekends are tainted with my frustration that he does not 'achieve' all the chores that need doing. I forget that he too needs some down time and that he does not need to work all weekend, every weekend in the garden, around the house. We don't have to be busy all the time.

This has been a liberating and powerful experience, so to everyone who has a public holiday or weekend coming up - remember you too can just give yourself a day off.