Attention Moms: Find Your Sitter Today – Mom’s Night Out is Next Week!
Soccer practice, ballet, make dinner, clean the house, pick up the dry cleaning, do the grocery shopping, make lunches, go to bed – anything on that list you actually wanted to do (besides go to bed)?
So many times, as moms, we give up the things we want to do because there are so many other things that have to get done.
In 2007, Rachel Wright, author of “Mom’s Night Out: Even Inmates Get Time Off For Good Behavior,” decided enough was enough. Moms have to take time out for themselves too, so she began National Mom’s Night Out on the 3rd Thursday of March.
This is a night specially-designated just for the woman in you to take a night and remember who you really are. This year, it falls on St. Patrick’s Day – what a great excuse to get out with friends.
Wright says so many moms suffer the guilt of leaving their kids for the night, which prevents them from going out and having a little fun with their friends. “Get rid of the guilt,” she tells Family First. “This is investment spending in yourself. It will make you a better wife, friend and mom.”
If it’s been so long you can’t even remember what might be fun to do with a friend or two, Wright gives us a few ideas to help you get started:
- See a movie that doesn’t have any animated characters or is rated G.
- Paint a piece of pottery.
- Find a fun concert or play in your area.
- Go see an art exhibit.
- Go to dinner somewhere that doesn’t have a large stuffed animal in the corner or plastic utensils.
- Take a yoga class.
- Take a 30-minute walk with a friend.
- Have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee with someone you haven’t seen in a while.
- Dress up and go dancing – wear heels, NO sweats.
- Extend the night to the weekend and go to a spa somewhere or Vegas.
“The whole point is to reconnect with friends and remember who you are besides a mom,” explains Wright. She says you need to erase the excuses because it’s not irresponsible to want to have time with your friends. It’s self-preservation and makes you better equipped to be a good mom.
“There is a difference between what something costs and the price that you pay. Moms need to recognize this distinction and realize that taking time for themselves is not only investment spending in their own mental health but it has a positive ripple effect for the entire family,” she says.
Her point is that you juggle all the other things in life – practices, doctor’s appointments, school commitments. Why not find a way to make this night work? In fact, put it on the calendar and make it a regular appointment!
If you can’t leave the house, ask your spouse or a friend to take the kids to a quick dinner and take a 30-minute bath with candles and music, or read a few pages in that book you never get to read.
Since it is St. Patrick’s Day next Thursday, if you spouse insists he wants to go out too, find a way to split the night up, if you want to separate, or get a sitter and go out together. Just make sure no one who is caring for the children is intoxicated.
Wright says there’s always a way to make it work. Don’t give up on your desire to have time for yourself. So call your sitter and get your night out on the calendar today!
Find out more about Rachel and National Mom’s Night Out at www.nationalmomsnightout.com and http://themotherofreinvention.com/ or find them on Facebook here.