Rediscovering Me, Myself And I

Do you feel guilty when you treat yourself to a movie, a lunch not consisting of last nights leftovers, how about something as simple as your favorite magazine? Did you answer yes to one of these questions? If you did, chances are, you are a mother. I knew it. I’m a mother too. Actually, a mother times four. With four children, I rarely have time to think about myself. Now before the children started to arrive, I knew how to treat myself real special. That’s because there was only me, myself and I. Shopping sprees, lunch and dinner outings, two or three good books; the whole works. It’s amazing how quickly we forget about ourselves once the stork drops those little bundles of joy into our lives.

I remember when I learned of my first pregnancy. Besides buying presentable attire for my condition, all thoughts were on the baby. Once the sex was known, oh boy, it was all over for me, myself and I; a baby girl. Pink this, pink that is all I could think about. Blankets, clothing, and hair accessories, all for my lil baby girl. That was just with my first child. With each new child, poor me, myself and I got pushed further into the background. By the time the fourth and final child arrived, I was wearing one pair of dress shoes for the whole year. Things for me, myself and I were bought only on an as needed basis.

Somehow I had to rescue me, myself and I from the archives of my life. Here’s how I found us again. It started off with a pack of gum. Yes, a pack of gum, Bubblicious watermelon flavored gum. That’s the gum I used to enjoy way back before the children came. Don’t get me wrong, the whole pack of gum wasn’t just for me, myself and I. Remember I have four children and once they discovered that mommy had watermelon flavored gum in her purse, you know I had to share. Then I started buying my favorite magazines once a month. One at a time at first; and then two. But again I had to share. With budding teenagers eager to read what the latest fashions were or Hollywood’s juicy gossip, I found myself asking, “where’s my magazine”? I even started treating myself to a special lunch once a week. Sometimes I even ventured to do two. Myself and I were so happy with me. Sometimes on my evening errands I would finish devouring a double whopper with cheese just seconds before pulling up in front of the house, trying to hide the evidence as the children eagerly ran out to greet me. On occasion they would catch a whiff of the lingering aroma of something not seen, but definitely smelt.

Before the children came, I could easily spend a couple of hundred dollars on outfits and accessories to match. Now my budget only allowed for a top here and a skirt there to match something already in my closet. But I eventually found a few places that actually did me justice in the fashion department. Although I didn’t know who in the world Tommy Hilfiger was, I still made fashion statements of my own. I don’t believe in spending gobs of money on someone else’s name across my anything. But again I had to share. My daughter has since passed me up in some areas of physical development and I must say, I am not upset about that at all.
So moms you can easily bring back the attention you used to give to your own, me, myself and I. Start off small and gradually work your way back to a little selfish behavior to make yourself feel good again. Remember if you don’t take care of your me, myself and I, don’t expect anyone else to, either.