Why I am jealous of my sister

There is something I must admit, something that will make my sister very very giddy. I am a little jealous of her. You see, she is a working Mom. While that is not the part that I am jealous of per se, I am envious of her ability to find little ways to pamper herself. There are numerous postings to facebook by her with phrases like "off to yoga" or "getting a pedicure" and "out for drinks w/ the girls." These activities are relics of my past, little things that at the time, were every week occurrences in my life.

I sometimes refer to the time before Cookie as "BB", before baby. Many of us Stay-at-home-Moms have trouble getting away. We are with our kids literally 24/7. The idea of leaving them with a sitter to get a manicure is just not there. My sister has her kids in daycare, therefore, if she gets out of work a little early, she has some time to herself, to go shopping without kids in tow, get a manicure, get a haircut, go to a yoga class, or have a drink with a friend. Her sitter is going to get paid regardless if my sister is two hours early or on time. Us SAH moms rarely leave our little beans with anyone during the day. We drag them to doctor's appointments, the grocery store, and to the park (for a round of run w/ jogger).

Today, a friend and I went and got pedicures. It was a lot of maneuvering on both our parts to make sure our hubby's had the time to watch our kids, makings for dinner was provided, and that we had an appointment, so we would not be home too late. It was nice to get a little pampered and to relax for an hour. At the end, we both commented on how we should do it again, and how we would have liked to have a little more time, but both husbands were anxious to have us home in time for dinner and little one's bedtime.

I am not complaining. I am just stating that for us SAH moms, our reality is a lot different than working moms. We are lucky to be able to see our children grow and make all of those little leaps and bounds as they are happening. We have a better ability to control what our children consume both physically and mentally throughout their day. But one thing many of us fail in doing is taking care of ourselves. After my hour of relaxation, I felt a little less stressed and harried. Just like our marriages, and our responsibilities as parents, taking care of ourselves is a work in progress. But, we must remember to take the time and work on each of them.

So to my sister, I salute you and your ability to take that time. I am jealous of your yoga bending, alcohol drinking, adult socializing time. Enjoy every minute of it, because there are those of us who just can't figure out how to have it all.