Parenting a child with special needs can prove to be quite difficult. In the middle of dealing with school, emotional needs, social needs, and family needs, you can find yourself burnt out. I got home about 30 minutes earlier than I normally do and my husband and daughter hadn’t gotten home yet. I thought to myself, now is the time that I can get some stuff done before they arrive, but instead I sat down and enjoyed the quiet. I wasn’t thinking of anything, nothing was on my mind. It just felt good to be in the peace and quiet of my own home. During the day I go to work, and then go to the grocery store, to the post office, to pick up my daughter, and back home again at the minimum.
When we get home, we help my daughter with her schoolwork and then cook dinner, and before you know it, it’s bedtime! It seems like there’s never enough time in the day to get anything done, and every day brings its own set of challenges. Being a parent is a full-time job, and then add in parenting a child with special needs, now you’re working a double shift. I have to make time for my husband and then try to make time for myself. So most of my time is compiled in being a mother, a wife, a teacher, a psychologist, a doctor, a chef- you name it, that’s me!
So when I finally sit down to rest, I am beat, and I just want to go to sleep. So what I do is I take at least one day out of the month and make it all about me. I do not go to work and my husband takes my daughter to school and picks her up, so I have about eight hours or so to myself. During this time I catch up on movies or shows that I’ve recorded. I sleep in, and get up whenever I feel like it. Other times I schedule an appointment for me to get a massage or manicure, but most importantly, I’m doing something for myself. I found that when I stop and take a break and just have some me-time, I am better at being all the things that I need to be. So I encourage all of you busy parents out there to take some time just for yourself every once in a while. You don’t have to do anything extravagant; you can even lie around the house if you want. It’s whatever you like.
But I promise you after having a few moments to yourself, you will be the best mother, wife, teacher, psychologist, doctor, chef etc. you can possibly be!
