I bumped into another mom at the park on Monday when I was out with the kids. We got to talking about what was happening in our lives and I told her about what I was doing with my hobbies. She seemed amazed, not to mention a bit put out, that I had time on my hands to do things that weren’t related to the kids, or the house, or even my hubby.
What do you think? Do you agree with her? Do you think that I’m just wasting time on myself that I should be spending on my family? If so, I’ve put together 3 reasons why you should have a hobby. I confess that a short time ago, I would have also sat on the side of the fence with the other moms who think that we shouldn’t have time for ourselves. Now, having jumped over the fence and having seen how life is here, I am able to speak from experience and maybe I can coax a few more moms to cross over!
1. Moms Need Me Time!
We all get caught up in the day-to-day trivia and routine of family life. We go from chore to chore without blinking an eye. At the end of the day we hope to have achieved most of our to do list, and we collapse into bed. There’s very little in the way of time to relax, and we feel guilty about any “free†time we manage to find in the day perhaps thinking that if we have time, we’ve missed something. Over time we lose sense of who we are, becoming full-time caregivers to other people, and somewhere deep inside, the murmurings of “what about me?†are deafened by a louder internal voice accusing us of selfish thoughts.
But it’s not selfish to want to do something that brings you joy. Yes you get joy from your family, but it’s a different sense of joy that you get when you, for example, learn the piano. It may sound crazy, but adding time for a hobby you love into your already packed day, can actually give you more energy to spend on other things. Mommy me time isn’t about being selfish, it’s about re-energizing your soul.
2. Wake Up Your Mind
Whether you have a creative hobby, or a more physical one, you will find that your mind will start to wake up. You might not even have noticed that it had started to doze off, but once you begin regularly engaging in a hobby, you will notice that your mind becomes sharper, as you learn piano music for example, and you are more aware of what’s going on around you.
3. Lead by Example
Many parents these days are complaining that their kids spend too much time in front of a computer or watching TV. How many of those parents are showing their kids that there are other things to do? If you have a hobby, and your kids see you doing something productive with your time, it will encourage them to think of other activities they could pursue.
Your kids may try what you’re doing and enjoy it. This will make it an activity that you share and be something you can spend quality time together doing. But that won’t work for all families. If your child tries what you’re doing and doesn’t enjoy it, or shows no interest in your hobby whatsoever, that’s OK. Don’t try and sell them on the idea of your specific hobby, instead you should simply sell them on the idea of having a hobby, any hobby. Whether it’s making something, collecting something, or doing something, it doesn’t matter as long as it is an activity that encourages them to do something other than watching a screen.
I love my hobbies. I can’t believe how much more excited I am to get up each morning, or how much more fulfilled I feel when I go to bed each night. It isn’t, as my friend suggested, that I don’t want to spend time doing things with my family, it’s more than I want to share more of the real me with them, rather than the robot I was becoming. I think that’s quite a valuable contribution. What do you think? Bill Hicks said, “Music is a great energizer. It’s a language everybody knows.†Now that I’m playing piano again, and working on my other hobbies, I feel that my actions communicate a better sense of who I am and I think that’s a good model for my kids to follow.
Exercise is also a great to do as well as showing your kids. Check out the Fitness Equipment over at the BHI Store.
About the Author:
Melissa Cameron is a 30-something mother, wife and freelance writer. A native of Austin, Texas, she loves her family, music and surfing the Internet in search of knowledge and good deals!