Being a mum is hard.

With everything a mum has to juggle and balance you often feel like a juggler trying to keep several balls in the air at once.

Each child, the house, your husband, the pets, the car, finances…. The list is extensive

With all these balls up in the air, it’s easy to drop one and usually the first ball to go is yourself!

You’re so busy looking after everyone else that you forget to look after yourself. As mums, we put ourselves last and we’re too busy looking after everyone else to worry about ourselves.

Recently I was on a course and the leader asked me to think about a certain situation and what I would do.

“Imagine you’re on a plane,” she told me. “You’re sat there enjoying the flight with your children when the plane hits some turbulence. Suddenly the masks drop down and you’re told to put them on.  Who do you put the mask on first? Yourself or your children?”

“My children!” I answered, shocked that she would think any different.

“But if you do that.” She replied, “Who will put their masks on if you lose consciousness. You need to put your own mask on so that you will be able to put their masks on!”

This pretty much sums up life. We need to look after ourselves so that we can look after everyone else. We are the glue that holds our families together and we can’t do that if we’re ill or worn out.

This is why my blog has been quiet all summer. I have had to look after myself and my own mental health.

Children are lucky, they have you to look after them and ensure all their needs, physical and mental, are met. But as adults, we often put ourselves behind everything!

How often do you go to the store and come home with clothes or treats for everyone else and nothing for yourself? I know I do. Hell, I have clothes that are older than my children!

Most importantly, we need to not feel guilty for taking this time out. For recharging our own batteries. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you do!