20 minutes.

Yesterday Uriah had to run into work to place an order.  He typically does this on Sunday mornings, and although it's technically his day off and our "family day," it doesn't take that long and I've gotten used to the hour or so that he's at work before he comes home and we make a great big brunch and spend the rest of the day together. Yesterday he offered to take Finn with him on an adventure.  I hastily scribbled a grocery list and sent them off to do their man-chores.

I was staring down the face of at least an hour to myself.  We've had a full-on week of entertaining.  Daniel and Ady had spent the previous weekend with us doing fall things like pumpkin carving and walking to the lake and counting deer in our yard.  That was followed closely by the arrival of my in-laws.  Uriah was off for (almost) 3 whole days in a row, a rarity for this family, as his parents had made the trip up from Kansas City, so we got to play tourist in our own new city, which is kind of fun, actually.  But Uriah's day off was spent playing tour-guide and not doing our regularly scheduled programming (chores) and that sort of takes it's toll on a house of 4 after a few days.  Usually, I try to take advantage of Finn's nap time as my time, but inevitably I find myself emptying the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry or sweeping something up and by the time I do sit down, he's ready to be up and playing.

Yesterday morning was no different.  The moment the door closed behind the boys, I looked around and decided to just water some plants real quick.  That turned into sweeping up the dead leaves that had fallen, taking out the trash and tackling a load of dishes that had mysteriously piled up.  Before I knew it, I was upstairs in Finn's room sorting toys and switching out what he had upstairs with what was downstairs.  I paused long enough to make a list of some preschool ideas I want to work on this week with Finn and was quickly back to making the bed, watering more plants, and doing a bit of dusting (read: I wiped away the dust only where I could see it.).

Why do I do this?  All of these tasks I can do easily during the day with Finn underfoot, but there is a little nagging feeling of guilt in taking a few minutes for myself when I can see stuff around me that needs to be done.  I'm learning, however, that what needs to be done is relevant to the situation.  Does the dryer need to be emptied?  Yes, obviously.  My family likes to wear clean, semi-wrinkle-free clothes (I draw the line at ironing.).  But it can also be done eventually, and spinning a load for an extra 20 minutes to get the wrinkles out while I enjoy a cup of coffee and a chapter in my book is okay, too.

Sometimes, what needs to be done is taking care of myself.  This week I am going to try to give myself a little gift during nap time each day where I unplug, enjoy a chapter in my book, or an uninterrupted cheese and apple snack that I am not required to share.  For 20 minutes, I will not be answering my phone, logging into Facebook,  Pinterest, or my email.  I will not sweep or wipe or fold anything.  20 minutes of quiet just for me.

And then I can go back to being Wonder Woman and getting it all done for everyone else.
What are your plans for this week?