As a parent it is all too easy to put everyone else first and spend no time looking after ourselves. The analogy I was once given on a parenting course was to think of ourselves as a jug of water. You start the morning full to the brim, but as you go through the day you keep pouring out bits of water as you do things for other people. By part way through the day your jug is empty. There’s just no more to give, yet children don’t know that and they keep asking for more and more. By the end of the day you’re completely exhausted and it’s no surprise that once they’re tucked up in bed asleep you just crash out on the sofa yourself. Then the next day it’s back on the treadmill to do it all over again.
You’re pretty much useless though if you don’t have any more to give.
That’s why having “me time” and indulging yourself is something that we should all make time to do. It needn’t be something high-brow like reading a book or taking up a hobby though. Just doing the things that you enjoy most can actually be the most rewarding. I describe it as indulging your guilty pleasures. Just like putting your favourite cheesy Spotify playlist and having a quick dance around the kitchen when no one else is home.
One of my guilty pleasures is actually something that I enjoyed as a child with my Nan – a crafty game of bingo. There’s a certain thrill watching to see if your numbers come up or not. Calling line or even house as your card fills up. And yep, even if you’re playing online it is obligatory to shout out “house” and jump out of your seat. Just like you would if you were in a bingo hall. Obvs. Just mind that cup of tea you have on the sofa arm.
The kids being at home, either playing nicely for once, or tucked up in bed, means that you can get that thrill as the numbers are called just like you would if you were out for a couple of games with friends. The game of “Dingo Bingo” that was played in this year’s I’m a Celebrity showed just how much fun bingo could be – although I’d prefer not to have a loaf of insects dropped on me whilst playing. You also might not get the thrill of Iain Lee reading out the numbers drawn whilst sat at home, but with all the job offers that are bound to flood in from when he returns form the jungle you never know, that might be one of them! I can just seem him in a gold sequinned jacket. Or maybe I’m thinking of Barry from Watford instead…
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