downtime

Mom guilt has plagued me since the beginning of my motherhood journey. Truly. I even feel guilty about feeling guilty.

One thing I’ve stopped feeling guilty about, however, is napping or going to bed early. I’ve learned that in order to do this job day in and day out, I need to take care of myself. Getting enough rest is a big part of that.

With a two-year old in the house, naptime is still a part of our daily routine. At seven-years old, the noisy boys don’t need naps anymore, but taking a break in the afternoon from hard play is still a good thing. So when the toddler goes down for his nap, the rest of us have an hour of “downtime.” Downtime is any quiet activity that you can do by yourself, including napping, reading, working a puzzle, painting a picture…you get the idea.

Instituting “downtime” for all of us this summer has been a win-win. The house is quiet for our napping toddler, and we all feel refreshed after at least an hour of rest.

And, yes, sometimes I’m tempted to plow through the afternoon to get more work done, but I’m learning that for me, in this season of life, this just isn’t wise. Honestly, the days I do that I get less done, not more. I’m learning to pace myself as a mom. It’s not enough to get the floors mopped and the laundry done in the afternoon…I need to be able to make it through the evening—fix supper, get the kids to bed, and—ideally—have some energy left at the end of the day to hang out with my husband.

This week, I’m privileged to participate in a blog tour for Keri Wyatt Kent’s new book, Rest. I’ll be sharing more thoughts later this week, and you can also check out the other bloggers participating in the tour by clicking here.

I don't do many blog tours because, well, this isn't a book review site. But every once in awhile a book comes along that I feel passionately about. Rest is one of them. Plus, I've been following Keri's blog for quite awhile now, and I'm excited to partner with her on her new book!