A Mama Learns a New Trick

Last week, I took an introductory sewing class at The Needle Shop in Bucktown with my sister and sister-in-law.  We each made a throw pillow (complete with a zipper, thank you very much) and a good time was by all.  It wasn't the class or the companionship that made the night so significant to me (although both were great).  This sewing class was the first time in a long, long time that I took four uninterrupted hours to do something for myself.

Four hours is a big chunk of time for a stay-at-home Mama like me.  My little guys can't stay focused on one activity for four hours straight.  Increasing, neither can I.  Sometimes I don't even sleep for four hours straight.  My lifestyle just can't accommodate working on something for a four-hour stretch.  When my kids nap, I write a little or try to get something done around the house but naps never last more than an hour or two.  By the time I get them in bed at night, I usually only have two hours (at best) before I have to put my exhausted self to bed.

I forgot how satisfying it is to sit down with a project and work on it until it is completed.  No interruptions.  No rushing.  Not a little bit here, and then maybe a some more a few days from now.  I just focused on the work at hand until I was satisfied that the project was completed.  And it felt great. 

Inspired by my happy sewing experience, I am going to try to reserve a half-day for myself every few weeks.  Not a morning to try to do twenty errands while the kids are with a babysitter.  Not a four-hour period of time to get started on all of the cleaning and organizing I have been meaning to do for three years.  I am going to take a few hours to just work on something -- whether it be my writing, a baby blanket for my new niece, or reading a book (a whole book) in one sitting.  A little "brain time" for Mom.

Original post to the Chicago Mom Blog.

Caitlin also writes at A Hen and Two Chicks and Chicago Parent.

Comments

[feener]

bravo to you !! I agree, I even have a sitter for a day and that time is used for appts for my girls and errands. I swear those days are busier than when i don't have the sitter ??

[the farmers wife]

It will get better with time. As they get older and their attention span increases, so will yours. It's almost as if you're growing up together!

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

[Cathy]

I totally understand--any chunk of uninterrupted time is a little piece of heaven! I used to live in Chicago, too--in Ravenswood.