Stepping on Cheerios by Snyder Betsy Singleton;

Author:Snyder, Betsy Singleton;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2017-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

The Great Escape Is Up to You

When our kids were really little, there were few days that I had any time to myself. Back then, I actually did enjoy shopping, but only because I was out of the house for an activity. I couldn’t really count those chores as Sabbath to discover who I was, separate from all these other roles of mom, wife, and pastor. It’s like saying that I enjoyed Diaper Fun, our local kids-only movement class, or Kindermusik, the early music appreciation course for toddlers with tambourines and bells and loud things. Of course, I celebrated the activities as times to be with my children and dip into their development, but that didn’t help me sort out me.

I’ve already mentioned my love of pedicures, which is a nice mini escape, but sometimes we need to block out time on our calendars for being with self. We all have to decide what takes care of us.

My friend, Gayle, who worked with me at one of my churches, taught me that I needed to decompress after church funerals. Before that, I had often gone immediately back to the church and tried to work. Sometimes we can’t avoid certain obligations, but after Gayle’s modeling, I saw that I needed to block time out for myself after a very emotionally draining experience, which included preparing the service, caring for the family, and actually doing the service with very personal words and actions of care.

Nowadays, I always take the rest of the day off after a funeral to decompress. In fact, Gayle and I have used the time after the service for retail therapy, sometimes buying locally made granola, stopping in a shop off the beaten path, or even purchasing a pair of boots in another county. It wasn’t the purchases but the experience of retreat that came from the enjoyment of the senses and the realization of being alive.

As our boys grew physically, we began to rent cabins around the state, hiking and fishing and playing more in nature. I was also renting places several times a year to write and plan and reflect. My husband and I decided to look for our own cabin and were fortunate enough to find an affordable place near some caves, trails, and fishing streams. While we love it as a family, I also use it by myself for quiet and to listen to God. It’s still hard for me to leave my family, but I know that cultivating time for me will help me and show my kids how to love themselves and listen to themselves better. I also hope that someday in the future they will give the women in their lives permission to do the same.

Some of us feel most alive in nature, so we need to block off time for walking, hiking, fishing, or whatever it is that helps us grab hold of us as a singular child of God and reminds us there is no other one like us. The

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