Sanity Break

i was over reading at Julie's blog "the Clearing" about her sweet solitude. basically her b-day request for this year has been a weekend alone. she has 3 kiddos and a busy household. i can so relate. not to the 3 kiddo's but the busy household.

i left her a comment about my own weekends alone. i call them sanity breaks. and i thot this might make for a good post. you see, i'm a strong believer in women: wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, friends of the female kind taking a break.

after our son was born i spent many nights getting up 2 and 3x a night. sometimes i was able to fall back to sleep and sometimes i didn't. this went on for his first 4 years (can we say Sleep Deprived???) until we found a medicine that helped him sleep. then at the age of 2 we found out what we suspected all along. that he had a disability and our lives would not be normal. many demands: physical yes, but mainly emotional and mental were placed on me day after day. finally, i came upon the idea of getting away for a short time. i pleaded with the hubster (who did not have the same need to get away and didnt' understand what i was going thru), begged, tried to get him to understand logically what i was going thru, etc etc. i think he finally gave in not cuz he understood but becuz he loved me and wanted to make me happy. gotta love that guy.

i booked a room in a nearby B&B, packed a bag and breathed a sigh of relief. i brought my bible and my journal and another book or two. being an introvert i looked forward to time alone so i could read, write and pray. i looked forward to sleeping thru the night with no interuptions. i looked forward to a leisurely bath and doing the girlie things like facials, and lotion and my nails. i came home from that sanity break refreshed and ready to be a great mom and wife. i came back renewed. i came back happy. i took a few more of those sanity breaks over the years as money and hubby allowed. i haven't had one for awhile and would like to do another, but money is a factor, as it is with julie over at the clearing. i may just take a day to go to a coffee shop or library out of town some time and do an abbreviated break.

so how about you? have you ever felt the need to get away? have you ever done it, and if so, what did you do? what did it look like? did it refresh you and fulfill your need for some quiet time away from the family. i know some women are completely fulfilled and dont' need time away, but for those of us who do, go for it! dont' feel guilty. listen to your body and what it needs. and leave me a comment!