I personally have two children, one is 8 years old and the other turns 5 years old in May. My oldest is "homeschooled" by attending a public charter cyber school so we have school work to accomplish Monday-Friday, plus I am currently a part-time online student working towards my bachelors in Psychology: Christian Counseling. On top of school for my daughter and I, I of course have household duties to keep our home clean and in check, laundry to do, and I'm always taking one of the kids to a doctor's, dentist, allergist or some other type of appointment. Grocery shopping, pharmacy pick-up and attending church are also weekly trips I take. Cooking (and doing the dishes- blah) is something I do 2-3 times a day, that's just fact. I love cooking and actually consider it one of my favorite times of the day. On top of all of my motherly and wifely duties, I also carve out time each day to spend in the word and in prayer, and oh, did I mention that we recently rescued a stray cat (Thor) so now I'm taking care of him and two little hamsters that he likes to tease?
Out of all of my duties, raising my kids is the most important to me. I want to teach them how to live a life Christ will be pleased with, help them discover and strengthen their God-given talents/gifts, proper manners, and how to treat one another and anyone they come into contact with. It's hard raising kids, let's be honest. There are some days where I have said I think my life would be easier if I worked outside the home and the kids went to school and day care. Those days are rough. Those days are the days that overall make me stronger in the end.
My husband has told me on many occasions, that his co-worker women have mentioned to him how jealous they are of ME because I get to stay home and raise my kids at home without having to worry of finances. That they wish they could be with their kids more and be the ones raising them, not some nanny or daycare worker. The truth is, I wouldn't trade my life or position as a stay-at-home mom for anything! Even though there are rough days, there are more days where I feel blessed and happy.
Back to what I was saying, kids do not always make it easy for parents, especially if they know which buttons to push and when to push them. They can give an attitude or be defiant and it makes you so crazy. Then you have to deal with discipline and it can sometimes ruin your day. Stress. You just feel so stressed out that you are counting down the hours until their bedtime so that you can finally kick back and have some peace and quiet. Well, hopefully most of your days do not go that way, but we all have them.
I say all of this to give you a pretty good picture of my life, so that you can see how the stress quickly adds and builds up. Okay. So we established that as stay-at-home mom's we get stressed out. But now let's talk about how to deal with and handle that stress. What are some ways that you calm your body and mind down to de-stress from the day you had?
I personally love reading. Yeah, I'm a book worm. I'm always reading. For one, I read several books per class I take. On top of that I'm always reading a good fiction book and sometimes even non-fiction on top of that. Needless to say, there is always a book laying around in our sitting room and/or on my nightstand. Another way I like to de-stress is by cooking or baking. It really is kind of like time to myself (unless I have the kids helping me) and I really enjoy it. I also like taking walks, especially with the weather warming up like it has been recently. Exercising in general is a great way to lower stress. Recently, I've taken up cross stitching. It is something my grandma used to do and what my mom still does today. I like to carry out the family tradition and I find it rather fun and relaxing!
More than anything, I like to spend quiet time reading my Bible, playing the keyboard and singing worship songs, and spending time in prayer. There is nothing like being in God's presence and you don't need to go to church to find Him. He wants us to seek Him daily, spend time with Him and love Him. He wants to restore us with joy and happiness and take away the stress, sadness and any fears that we face each day. He's our comforter and friend and sometimes you just need a really good friend to dump your burdens and stresses on and unload and retell the stresses of your day to. He wants to hear from you and spend time with you, and He's the best friend, counselor and father to turn to when you're feeling miserable about your day, a certain situation or whatever.
So next time you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed, just stop and take a deep breath and tell the father that you need Him. You need Him to help you through your day and to help keep you sane haha. He's got your back; you can always count on Him!
So tell me, what are some of the ways your de-stress?
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