Sunday, April 10, 2011

It's 10 30- are you thinking about going to bed?

A friend and I often talk about how parenting can be difficult and in theory we should be providing ourselves with the best tools that will enable us to be the best mommys we can be. This includes foremost getting enough sleep and eating healthy. In practice that is not always the case and so in some way we are sabotaging ourselves.
Getting enough sleep is tricky. Even when our children are not waking us up in the middle of the night (to nurse, have water or just because) or waking up ridiculously early, we ourselves are guilty of not making sleep a priority. While going to bed early means different things to different people, for me 11 pm is really an ideal time.
Often what gets in the way is that at night it is finally quiet. And we can do all kinds of things in this quiet time- clean up, prepare for the coming day, make lists, spend time with our husbands, or even (gasp) take time for ourselves: to blog, read books, knit...the list goes on an on. It is so appealing to take that time for ourselves, but not as appealing when we have to get up the next morning .
Like I wrote, it is now 10 30 and I am thinking about all the things I need to still do before going to bed.
I am wondering if 11 pm is a realistic goal. But I am also thinking about my alarm that will be going off tomorrow morning and about Y's bus that will be showing up at 7 40, whether I am ready or not. And how annoying it is to have to take him to school if we miss the bus. And how cranky and impatient I get when I am tried.
So, I am going to take my own advice now and will get ready to go to bed...so I can be a better Mommy tomorrow. A Mom who is patient, present with her kids and has it together, mostly anyway.

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