This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PEOPLE®, Real Simple®, and Southern Living®. The opinions and text are all mine.
“Me time” during the summer is like trying to speak a foreign language in the wrong country. It just doesn’t work. I mean, with three kids home and needing entertainment and snacks all day long, when am I supposed to find “me time”? Us moms have to get creative, we have to seek out non-traditional moments to have some time to ourselves and enjoy something meant just for us.
One of my favorite times is when we are in the car. Whether it’s a short trip and I can just browse Instagram as much as I want, or a long road trip where I have hours to fill (in between bathroom stops, refilling snacks and picking up dropped toys). So when I get to sit back and enjoy the ride, I love to bring along basics like my phone (and charger), some snacks, a book or just an ebook on my phone, and a good, current magazine like PEOPLE. You know, a magazine that I can read from cover to cover before the kids get a hold of it and turn it into scissors practice. Oh I just love it!
As a teen, I was so obsessed with magazines. I read them all the time, even went to the library to flip through them after school with no real purpose. For a while, my “dream job” was to work for a magazine in some capacity (of course I was thinking editor-in-chief). Maybe in a way now that I’m an adult, flipping through magazines just satisfies that inner dream?
So far this summer I have spent many hours at the ball fields for t-ball practice and games, but I don’t consider those an appropriate “me time” example. For me, I should be focused on the game. Siblings can do what they want, that’s fine, at least they are there for support but me? Mom? I need to be watching and cheering on my team!
Oh, another great “me time”? When the kids are playing the loudest board game possible and I really just need to tune that noise out for a bit. Give me an issue of PEOPLE and I’m good. I’ve always been a sucker for pop culture news, celebrity gossip, etc.
I love popping into Kroger for a “few things” and coming out with the staples: ice cream and a magazine. What can you do? Mom needs to have time to relax, to forget about the dishes and the laundry. It’s okay to want that “me time,” and it’s okay to want it when the kids are at their absolute loudest and craziest during summer. I give you permission to grab a magazine and sit back for a little bit.
We just came home from our beach vacation where we had pretty much no plans, no schedule, nothing structured. I wanted the family to relax, to just BE in the moment and to have fun. This was the first time that the kids actually played on the beach for longer than a few minutes – I’m talking, we spent HOURS on the beach! It was glorious. It was the perfect time to sit back with PEOPLE and actually get to read it, cover to cover.
Our rental house was ON the beach, you literally walked out and there was the sand. It was the kind of vacation that had the “me time” I needed and deserved.
So now I’m curious, when do you get to sit back with a magazine? When do you make yourself have “me time?”
Be sure to grab this digital coupon for Kroger so you can score some savings. “Me time” doesn’t have to be expensive!
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