Thursday, December 2, 2010

The "Me Time" Myth

I want to preface this post by saying that I do think it is important to have time alone to think, pray, and reflect. I also think time spent with dear friends can be life-giving and encouraging. The point of this post is to speak to the mentality of selfishness and escapism.

"Me time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology. Me Time, by its very name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the titles of “wife” and “mother.” It accuses precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in which little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time.

The more we indulge the thought that we are somehow owed this time away, the more we will seek after it. The more we seek after it, the more every little opportunity afforded us to take a break will seemingly end too quickly. The everyday life of being a mother will become drudgery. We will dread every aspect of this role. We will snap at our children any time they try to draw us out of our precious time alone. Not getting this time will ruin our day, and if we do manage some time away, we will despise the re-entry."

This is part of a blog post by Amy over here please visit her site to read more about the me time myth. It is definitely worth the read.

2 comments:

Lacey (schoolhousefarm) said...

"Likewise, the company we seek during our time away should be spent with people who are about the business of edifying and strengthening us in our role as wife and mother, not tearing at the very foundation of our home." I think this 'time away' is the time we spend building ourselves and for me it is very important. It's important to have interests & outside activities that teach your children about what it is to have such interests. The world exists outside our home--the essential thing is including them when they are able, in appropriate activities. These interests make us interesting & they will respect us for being involved & for teaching them how to participate in our community...(& of course I have something to say) 'free time' is for the retired. ;)

canningmama said...

How true, how true, miss kallie vaughn. :) i think you should ditch the city and come spend a snow day with us. :)