Happy to be ME

DisclaiMEr: This post was sponsored by domain .ME; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Update: Me Day is March 16. To celebrate ME, I’m getting a pedicure–all by myself! Even though my kids are all driving age now, I still feel a thrill when I can go somewhere without buckling four car seats first.

This is my “littlest” one today. I don’t remember agreeing to this growing up part. So, I will take advantage of the awesome parts of having older children: someone else to make me coffee, having more people to share good books and movies with, and being able to take a little ME time.

I enjoy writing for Domain.ME. You can see my site is now Anne Parris, though my domain is still NotASupermom.com. Watch out for big changes to a .ME domain!

Below, enjoy this post. The baby is that tall young woman in the photo above who is holding car keys and my heart in her hands. 

Work/Life Balance

When my youngest child was a baby, I worked as an accountant for a corporation. I did SEC reporting and external financial reporting. It was as fun as it sounds.

I switched there from public accounting when I found out we were expecting our fourth child. The pace of travel and work during busy season was too much for me to even think about while pregnant and with three other children. My husband’s job was a little more flexible, but he had a long commute and work travel of his own.

For four years of my career my mom lived with us, so our kids didn’t have to go to day care. That worked fine, but I still missed my kids too much.

For me, achieving work-life balance MEant not working (outside the hoME) for a while. Years later I still feel like we made the right choice for our family.

Now my kids are all in their teens and twenties. The girls need me as much as ever, but in a different way. Now my main job is to drive them places and listen to their fan theories about Supernatural. It’s a much better gig than 70 hours of creating a balance sheet.

I see now there is no balance. There’s juggling, there’s choosing, there’s opting out. I read once you can have it all, but you just can’t have it all at the saME tiME. I’ve found this to be true for me, especially as the sensitive, delicate little flower that I am.

Taking a ME Day

Last week I smooched my husband and kids goodbye and boarded a plane for a girls’ weekend in Vermont. It was glorious. Four of us in a beautiful house at a ski resort. There was a trip to the spa, a trip to the most amazing bookstore, shopping without children, and a restaurant MEal that was not selected from a television ad. Best of all was the company.

I think every woman should have girlfriends she can spend the weekend with. No makeup, in yoga pants and rainbow slippers, just laughing and talking.

For me, ME time is “quality tiME”. I don’t have to go to Vermont, but I do need to be with people I love, whether it’s family or friends. For me, that’s what makes me feel balanced and cared for.

One part of having a successful work/life balance is taking time for oneself, for ME. Why not take a ME Day? Internationally, ME Day is March 16th, but you can take a ME Day any time.  A ME Day is a day for yourself – you do what relaxes you and allows you to embrace yourself and your achieveMEnts. It’s time off to let your body and mind refresh itself. It’s important to practice self-appreciation and take care of ourselves if we want to be able to take care of others.

Next month “ME Day,” created by domain .ME, is March 16th, 2015. This day promotes the values of diversity, tolerance and freedom, as well as self-appreciation and importance of taking care of ourselves.

Don’t wait for March 16th to take some Me Time. Think of something nice you can do for yourself this week. It doesn’t have to cost money or involve a plane, but it should be something that makes you happy and refreshed.

If you enjoyed this post, read the other posts I’ve written for Domain.ME about My Selfish New Year Resolution, Keeping Kids Safe Online, Why Your Blog Is Still Important, and Why I’m Happy to be ME!