Week #23: Mommy Break #23 of 52: Spinning Into the School Year ---- Literally and Figuratively
Labor Day weekend arrived as fast as the summer months went by. It was with bittersweet anticipation that I looked forward to Labor Day weekend. On one hand it marks the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year to reactivate bedtime (more consistently) and weekend routines for the kids. On the other hand it made me reflect on my summer and feel like “Did we do enough?” “Did we make the most of our summer?” This summer my husband made me realize that the kids are fine. It is me with the unrealistic expectations. I mean they got to play everyday, go to the beach once a week, and hang with friends. What’s not for them to love about their summers. As almost 5 and 7 year olds, they don’t know about 1 week vacations out of town or summer beach houses in Michigan. Nope, its just Mommy! Fighting against my unrealistic expectations, a poorly executed summer family bucket list, and the occasional desire to keep up with the Joneses’. So when Labor Day weekend did arrive it was anticlimactic because it was going to be a regular weekend.
SIDEBAR: I just realized that I may be coming across so ungrateful right now. Like, didn’t I just spend the summer months taking at least one more like two mommy breaks/week. Please don’t take this the wrong way. This is really about the grandiose visions I had for my summer as a family.
I wanted to make sure I did something to mark the end of the summer that was engaging and a way to decompress and get ready for the first week of school. What better way than doing a spin class on the beach overlooking beautiful Lake Michigan? The weather was perfect and it would still allow me enough time to get the to do list done.
CONFESSION: Initially, I felt a little intimidated by the Spin Class. The Instructor is known for really awesome routines to an awesome sound track. The problem is that I can often be described as a “rhythm-less” nation.
The DJ started spinning. The instructor started giving the routines. Our bikes started spinning and I found my groove... at least for a solid 35 minutes before I started falling apart and going to my own beat LOL.
In addition to physically spinning, my mind was mentally spinning thinking about all of the things on my to do list that keep carrying over week to week. Either I am biting off more than I can chew and need to realize how many hours are really in a day OR I need to just go with it and accept what gets done gets done. “Have grace with yourself Nicole”. Something definitely needs to give and it might be just being more mindful on how I spend the hours I do have.
I celebrated the end of the first week of school drinking wine (a bit too much) with my friends at a lakefront beach. (There was no resistance from the husband since he had plans to the kids to his cousin’s birthday party). Most of my friends brought their kids and I opted not to so technically… still a mommy break. The evening ended with a buzzed Target run and some chinese food with a girlfriend. What Mom wouldn’t think that it is an awesome way to spend a Saturday late afternoon and evening?
