Three Mini Vacations For Stressed Out Moms

I don’t know about you, but 2013 is kicking my butt. In a good way,  mostly.

Deadlines are piling up, personal life stuff is exploding, and I haven’t had a good minute to breathe since grad school ended.

While I’m not able to run away from it all just yet (and oh, that day is coming soon!), I am planning to sneak in larger-than-average doses of “me time” over the next few weeks to get me to my next real, official break.

1) Act like it’s 1972 and go to the drive-in

It’s summer, which means that my favorite spot on earth is open. If you are lucky enough to still have a drive-in near you (and “near” is relative), GO GO GO! Find one near you and enjoy watching a movie under the stars. If you don’t have a drive-in near you, your city might have movies at a local park. Go to enjoy nature and to get lost in a fictional world for a couple hours.

2) Get your body in a body of water

Whether it’s a lake, the ocean, a hot tub, pool, or hell, just even the bathtub, there’s something about water that can relax you like no other.

3) Unplug from social media

As a mom who doesn’t get out much, I use Facebook as a way to keep in touch with all my friends, using FB chat as a way to have a conversation without friends having to hear me fuss at my kids about the mess they just made on the floor. But after a while, being “on” all the time is tiring. Every couple days or weeks, take the time to shut it down. No TV, no computers, no cell phones. Get a book or go for a walk, but have absolutely no screen time. Spend some time with yourself and assess how you’re truly doing. Are you doing things you love? Are you taking care of yourself regularly? Are you being kind to yourself? If the answers to those questions are “No,” use that time to figure out how to make changes.

What’s your favorite way to unwind when you can’t quite get away from it all?