Moms tend to run themselves ragged. They push themselves past the point of exhaustion and yet somehow still manage to perform their uncountable daily tasks. I remember feeling like I could look at myself from a distance and in my head I would ask, “How are my feet and hands still moving when I’m completely exhausted?”
There was only one answer of course: “I am a mom.” And, that says it all, doesn’t it?
But, not giving yourself time to rest takes its toll. Your body and brain suddenly refuse to keep going at the rapid pace you’ve set up for yourself.
And, then Mama crashes and crashes hard. I call this the “GET OUT” syndrome.
Do you know what I’m talking about?
Family: “I can’t find any clean socks!”
Mom: “GET them OUT of the dryer (I’m too tired to put the laundry away).”
Family: “What’s for dinner?”
Mom: “I don’t know, GET something OUT of the fridge (I’m too tired to cook).”
Family: “There are no clean plates!”
Mom: “GET one OUT of the dishwasher (emptying the dishwasher is way down on my list of priorities right now).”
If you ignore these “GET OUT” warning signs, they tend to escalate.
Mom (to herself): “We’ve gone out to eat every night because I’m too tired to cook, I’ll just GET some money OUT of savings.” (Oops, we blew the budget!).
At this level of the GET OUT syndrome, if Mom doesn’t learn to delegate and take some time for herself, she moves on to the dangerous levels of “GET OUT”. As in:
All you all, GET OUT of my room!
GET OUT of my way.
GET OUT of my space!
GET OUT of my face!
And, if you still refuse to rest or recruit some help, it becomes hard just to GET OUT of bed.
We think we’re doing our families a favor by pushing ourselves past our limits, but it comes back to bite us in the end. So, moms, take care of yourselves. Whether it’s a trip to the spa or just a short walk by yourself, you’ll feel a lot better and hopefully even escape the GET OUT syndrome.
What do you do to rest and recharge?
