How I'm Beating the Blues

As my mother, my long-suffering husband, and anyone who knows me really well can tell you, I am an incredibly grumpy person. More so when I'm tired (which is often) or hungry (which...is often), and I have absolutely no control over the grumpiness. This sounds like an excuse, I know, but it's true. I often feel like I'm watching myself as an outsider when I'm grumpy, willing myself to get a grip but unable to do anything about it.

But I think - and I say this tentatively - I think I may have found a cure. Or, at least, something to lessen the grump. And really it's the most obvious thing on the planet and I want to smack myself in the forehead repeatedly for not having come to this conclusion before, but I'm also pretty sure I'm not the only mother blind to this solution:

Me time.

And by that I don't mean a spa day (although hello, yes please). I don't mean something extravagant or expensive or wildly time-consuming. For me, lately, me time has been heading out for a jog when my husband gets home, and blasting some tunes from a hilarious iPod I haven't edited in probably a decade. Sometimes I only have time (or energy) for 15 minutes around the block, but just getting some fresh air and blocking out the world has been helping.

If I can't get out, I'll do a few stretches before bed and try to clear my mind. I love DoYouYoga and live for the neck stretches, because after lugging around the babies all day, there's always a crick in my neck.

And, no matter what, I'm obsessively drinking what I've take to calling my 'magic healing tea' (in my absolute favourite bad-ass pregnant mama mug). A slice of ginger, the juice of a slice of lemon, a camomile tea bag, and, when it's cool enough to drink, a teaspoon of honey. It sounds like the crunchiest, most over-the-top tea, I know, but it's also absolutely delicious, and I have made it through this winter significantly healthier (touch wood) than most winters. I can't pin that on the tea, but I like to think all the time it takes to prepare has been worth it.

It's so easy to forget about yourself when you have little ones to take care of. After my first baby, I did absolutely nothing for myself, and I felt miserable and lonely a lot of the time. When she was a little over a year old, I did start to go out a bit more, and loved it, but by then I was already pregnant with number two, and when she was born I went back to doing nothing for me. I'm still breastfeeding, so I'm not going for a night out with the girls any time soon, but even this little bit of me time has worked wonders for my overall happiness. I'd recommend it to anyone - no matter how little time you can dedicate - and I'll be taking my me time seriously from now on.