With Mother's Day just around the corner, we thought we'd look this month at dedicating some time to mums! Whether you're a mum yourself or about to become a new mum, this is a good time to think about your relationship both with your own mum and those of your children too.
When we were younger and growing up we probably didn't appreciate just how much work our mum's did. It's much easier to recognise this more now!
The truth is that mums the world over are all incredibly busy people. They're balancing out looking after children and partners often with going to work, doing the household chores along with doing the shopping and cooking. It's hard work and can be demanding fulfilling all the required roles.
That's why in amongst the chaos, it's still important to remember to make time for yourself. It can be easy to lose sense of your identity whilst constantly seeing to the needs of others, but you're still an individual and it's vital to take a step back and think about what you want!
Here are some top tips to focus on you:
* Try to dedicate a small part of every day to doing something for you. It might be something simple like taking 15 minutes to sit and read a book, or having a hot bath. By planning something in, you can have something to look forward to each day.
* Learn to say "No". You can't always be doing favours for everyone else. So if it's really not urgent or important don't feel guilty in saying so.
* Don't take on everything yourself. Delegate some tasks. If you have children that are older, get them involved in helping out with some of the chores. Likewise ask your partner or family for more help.
* Make time to meet up and see your friends, without the children! Even if it's not very often, try to make a regular date such as once a month to meet for a chat, lunch or glass of wine. Again it's good to have something planned in to look forward to, but also to have quality time alone with friends to catch up and gossip!
* Remember your goals and dreams. OK, so you might be a mum now and responsible for other young people, but what else did you want from life? Perhaps you always harboured a desire to learn to paint or to speak another language? Perhaps you would like to start swimming or playing the guitar? Whatever your dreams think about them again and look at ways that you can take small steps in reaching them. For example perhaps you could investigate classes at night school or learn a new skill from a friend.
So, Happy Mother's Day! We hope you especially make some time for yourself and give some much needed appreciation to your own mum too!
To find out more about dealing with changes in your life and for help in creating a life that you love, visit www.horizonsregained.com
