Reading as “Me Time”

Reading as “Me Time”

How many times do you think back and remember how you used to devour an entire evening reading a novel? Or when you were reading a book that was so good, you would stay up until four in the morning to finish it. Who says you can’t do that now that you’re a mom?

Of course, you should do it within reason. Staying up every night until 4AM and then getting up with the kids at 6 will not do anything except turn you into a cranky miserable mess. But doing it every couple of weeks would be fine, especially if you are loving the book.

And who says you can’t lock yourself in the bathroom for half an hour while you take a “shower” and your partner watches the kids? Read for the first 20 minutes (if you turn the shower on, make sure you leave it on cold at a low steam so there will be hot water left for you, or use the time to slowly fill up the tub!) then jump in for a quickie 5 minute shower or bath at the end.

Or even wake up an hour before everyone else in the house does. Make yourself a cup of tea, sit on the sofa or on the porch and read away.

You could even try getting to your child’s school ten or fifteen minutes early, then sit in the car and read instead of chatting with the other moms.

Don’t make the mistake of reading for business rather than reading for pleasure, unless you happen to really, really enjoy your business reading.