"Me Time" Monday - Still Reading

It's true that Monday isn’t the first day that comes to mind when I think of having some time for myself. I’m more likely to spend this particular day tackling mountains of laundry, piles of dishes and otherwise catching up from a busy weekend. So each week, I’ll be making a point to try out a new idea for “me time” and reporting back every Monday, when we all need inspiration the most.

So my second attempt at a week-long "Me Time" Monday experiment was a success, but it wasn't without its minor kinks. After rediscovering reading on vacation, I decided that this once-favorite pastime should no longer be relegated to long car trips. Surely, I could make a little time in my day to read on a regular basis.

The first glitch, of course, was finding something to read . . . after all, I'm not talking Dr. Seuss here. Books about nutrition, homeschooling and most other non-fiction was off-limits, too. I've crammed enough information into my brain in the past few years that I'm due a little mindless fiction or, even better, the wonderful travel essay collections I've discovered. A few trips to the bookstore and one to the library had me covered, so one afternoon I opened a book and jumped right in . . . to the second glitch.

I'm big on completion and can't stand leaving things unfinished. Apparently, this applies to books, too. Remember that this is my first time attempting regular reading since way back when my time was my own (pre-kids, of course). Back in those days, I could blow off my whole day to read if I felt like it . . . and that's kind of what I did. Jim was home, so under the premise of "needing a rest", I retreated to the bedroom until I'd finished the book, even pushing the kids' bedtime back a little to get through the final chapter. Ugh! Creating one more thing I "had to finish" was not exactly what I had in mind.

The next day (and next book), I tried something new - moderation (insert gasp here) . . . thirty minutes of reading as soon as the kids headed to their rooms for afternoon quiet time. After being overwhelmed by all that I need to do for them all morning, it was actually nice not to immediately jump on the computer (my usual routine) during my one hour break and get overwhelmed by all that's required of me there.

Putting the book down after 30 minutes is hard and usually makes me a little sad, but minutes later it's already forgotten and I've had a full half hour of nobody needing anything from me - priceless!