A fair amount of my research involves talking to women who are actively mothering their children. Regardless of their personal situation, they all desire more time to themselves. They want "me time." I remember this feeling very well. It lasted the entire time Angel lived with me. Granted I had a lot more "me time" once he reached his teens, but there was always an underlying sense that my time was not truly my own.
There were several years where I traveled a lot for my job. While I missed Angel (and later b) when I was traveling, it was also a relief to have a hotel room all to myself for a few days. Most of those days I was working and not actually in my hotel room, but knowing it was there waiting for me was a blessing.
Things are different now. I have a lot of time to call my own. At the beginning and endings of the semesters the various demands upon me can almost feel like those mothering years but not quite as relentless.
b left for his Alaska Adventure today. He has 5 days of driving; a day and a half on a ferry; a day to wait for his friend, and then three weeks of paddling before I meet up with him. This translates into four weeks of me at home alone.
I've never lived alone. b has done these adventures before but this is the first one since Angel went off to college. Me time is a lot less precious when you have it in abundance.
I have a lot of work to do in the next four weeks. My goal is to be caught up and ready for the semester to begin before I leave for vacation. When I get back I will only have two weeks before classes start and those weeks are notoriously busy with meetings.
So my "Month of Me Time" will consist of writing a grant and getting a backlog of papers out, running two ongoing projects, prepping my fall courses and getting ready for the new cohort of doctoral students. In between I'll be attending a lot of yoga classes and taking an e-course or two. Hopefully I'll be posting throughout it all.
There were several years where I traveled a lot for my job. While I missed Angel (and later b) when I was traveling, it was also a relief to have a hotel room all to myself for a few days. Most of those days I was working and not actually in my hotel room, but knowing it was there waiting for me was a blessing.
Things are different now. I have a lot of time to call my own. At the beginning and endings of the semesters the various demands upon me can almost feel like those mothering years but not quite as relentless.
b left for his Alaska Adventure today. He has 5 days of driving; a day and a half on a ferry; a day to wait for his friend, and then three weeks of paddling before I meet up with him. This translates into four weeks of me at home alone.
I've never lived alone. b has done these adventures before but this is the first one since Angel went off to college. Me time is a lot less precious when you have it in abundance.
I have a lot of work to do in the next four weeks. My goal is to be caught up and ready for the semester to begin before I leave for vacation. When I get back I will only have two weeks before classes start and those weeks are notoriously busy with meetings.
So my "Month of Me Time" will consist of writing a grant and getting a backlog of papers out, running two ongoing projects, prepping my fall courses and getting ready for the new cohort of doctoral students. In between I'll be attending a lot of yoga classes and taking an e-course or two. Hopefully I'll be posting throughout it all.
1 comment:
I hope your "me time" feels satisfying, and you will feel rested and relaxed as you begin your vacation, knowing all that hard work is done.
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