it's about ME....

Thursday-3:45pm- I am sitting at the waiting areas of one of the local government offices to get some approval and I grab out 15 minutes to start writing this piece... Yes that's what school holidays can do to your routine, if you are a work from home mum or just a stay at home mum... Today this seems like the quietest place for me....

But am I complaining? Inspite of all the confusion, I enjoy my time with the kids- the late night movies we watch together, the walks we take post dinner, carom and scrabble sessions, and a complete lack of routine....I guess our lives are so busy now, any kind of non- structure is welcome and I start to crave for it every 2 months....

Friday 8:30am- I continue my writing on a bus ride. I recollect a feature I worked on recently... It was to talk to a few 'super busy women' about what they do to pull out some 'ME' time... The answers were as interesting as the people profiled (from business owners to doctors to professionals)....

And then it got me thinking... what if someone asked me this question- firstly do I feel super busy? And do I earn for 'ME Time' or do I have a lot of it already?

Being a mum at home, yes I do get my little pockets of time when I am alone, but I am forever occupied thinking about the home, kids, menu, grocery, presence at school activities, field trips, home-work time, and of course I manage to squeeze out those few hours I spend on my desk doing my writing work... 

So would it be my time spent at my desk writing, the time I spent just by myself during the day at home, my badminton I play, my runs I go for alone, my random trips for a lunch/ coffee with myself, a movie on my own....Yes and No...

Yes I crave for a few of the above and make sure I do it frequently but NO there are weeks when I don't manage to do some of the above... and yet I sail through my days...

 

a typical morning in my balcony..

I think for me it's the small pockets in a single day that I take out for myself- my early morning coffee with the newspaper in my balcony, my time spent reading an interesting article or a blog during the day (again in my balcony), a meet up with my close buddies every evening for a quick chit chat where we talk a little beyond home and kids, my (alone) TV time every night.... The day I miss any of these, I feel something was amiss from my day....

A friend rightly put it- a ME time activity needs to be something you do just for yourself and it can't be purpose driven and for me each of the above calm me down and make me happy.

As I re-wind and think, during my work days setting aside some 'ME Time' was part of my schedule (be it some weekend activity, or a few hours I pulled out from work), but doing it now seems more challenging. I have so many hours of the day when I am alone, yet planning anything for myself needs a 'conceited effort'...wonder why...For now am happy with my small pleasures I pull out during the day...they keep me going....