Summertime can be challenging for moms. While everyone else in the family is focused on fun, mom is juggling schedules and making to-do lists just like during the school year. And in many places, summer days get scorching hot and uncomfortable. So moms are often so busy trying to keep everyone chillin’ that they forget to relax a bit themselves. When is it mom’s turn to recharge during the summer?
Luckily, small reprieves for mom are always close at hand. Most moms don’t need an entire day away to feel refreshed. Usually taking a half-hour break will put the smile back on your face. Here are eight ways to take a refreshing timeout, so you can enjoy every longer-than-usual summer day.
1. Indulge in a Facial. The amount of time it takes to give yourself a facial is just the right amount of time to regroup. You can whip something up quickly in your kitchen or keep ready-made facials from your local drugstore on hand. Here’s a quick recipe for a calming and cooling mask: mix one-fourth cup of whole, plain yogurt with two tablespoons of honey and spread it all over your face and neck. Rinse well after 15 minutes and pat your face dry.
2. Get Wet. Is there a local pool where you can swim your stress away? Maybe a neighbor has a lap pool you can use? If you own a pool yourself, try 10 minutes of just floating all by yourself. Don’t use a device, just spread out your arms and legs and let the water buoy you up. In a pinch, pour yourself a nice lukewarm tub with lavender oil and bubbles and sink in. Imagine yourself being carried along by softly scented clouds.
3. Stop Censoring Yourself. What’s your favorite road trip movie? How about your most-loved hot and steamy summer romance? Sometimes moms just want to watch something that is not appropriate for children. Stop restricting yourself to children’s fare. While the kids keep themselves busy for half an hour, you can pop in one ear bud and watch the next installment of a TV show that makes you feel like a footloose and fancy-free grown-up.
4. Frozen Slushy Time. Here’s an easy way to turn your favorite summer drink into a slushy for scalding hot days when you might otherwise lose your cool. Pour your favorite non-alcoholic drink into an ice cube tray the night before and freeze until solid. When you are ready for a cool treat, pop those cubes into the blender and crush them. Stick a straw in a tall glass because one tray fills a 12-ounce cup right up to the top.
5. Banish Screens. If you turn green with envy over other family’s summer adventures and none of your Pinterest attempts are turning out photo-worthy, you can always announce a spontaneous one-day screen break. While everyone else in the family is enjoying some much-needed quiet time, why not curl up with a page-turner yourself? Let the kids know that mid-day siestas are encouraged.
6. Call in the Mist. You can always bring fresh flowers into your home, but if you’ve never tried before, why not make your own refreshing home sprays. Peruse your local Whole Foods’ collection of flower essences and essential oils until you come up with a combination that provides whatever you feel your home needs. Combine a few drops of each tincture in a small spray bottle with filtered water and spritz your way through the whole house.
7. Forget Cooking. Once a week, gather the family to prepare all the meals you’ll be eating for the next seven days. Then put them in the fridge or freezer and use the time gained each day to do something you really want to do like painting your toenails or skimming the fall fashion issue. This practice empowers moms and kids.
8. Institute Summer Sleep-in Days. Maybe the weekends or certain weekdays are perfect days for the whole family to sleep in. If you are a morning lark, take advantage of the quiet by getting up and doing what you’d like to do first, before you start serving everyone else in the family. Your whole day will go better.
Christina Katz, author, journalist and writing coach, keeps her cool all summer by enjoying some extra time off.
