5 Ways to Take Time for Yourself in These Unpredictable Days

Thank you to Mionetto for providing the wine used in this post. All opinions are completely my own. All photos in this post are property of familyloveandotherstuff.com. 

Making the most of each day with Mionetto.

What started out as a plan to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary, turned into spending time with the family for the past 3 months. My husband figured we could make an enjoyable dinner and pop open a nice bottle of wine to enjoy our anniversary this year. Unfortunately, I got sick. The wedding anniversary dinner never happened. That’s when life as we (collectively) know it changed. 

Virtual school days meant working from home looked like something different from what we were used to. My husband is still an essential worker but wasn’t working for three weeks after he got sick so that added another person at home—all day, every day. I love my family. I do. Although sometimes I just need a moment or two to myself. 

How do I handle this change? I work when I can and spent a lot of time walking my kids through 4th and 5th-grade math. We take lots of walks and play too many video games. My children need this time, and I need this time with them.

Let’s not forget that we still need to take time for ourselves. Add in a delicious and bubbly glass of Prosecco and the day just gets that much better. 

5 ways to take time for yourself (AKA keeping yourself sane). 

  1. Read. I love reading and will happily lock myself in the closet to read a book. Not that I’ve had to do that yet. I sit next to the family while they’re watching a movie and happily read my book. 
  2. Puzzle. I worked on a 1000-piece puzzle for 2 months. My family didn’t want to help, so this was my project and I happily worked on it off and on while watching TV or listening to music. 
  3. Sit and breathe. If the family is out walking or if it’s the kids’ school time I sit in a quiet place and just think. Or write in my journal. Anything to get out of my head. 
  4. Get dressed and do your makeup! I know, go with me on this one. Getting dressed (even in jeans) just changes your attitude. Throw on a little lipstick and you’ll feel like a new person. 
  5. Have “face-to-face” conversations with friends over the phone or computer. Having conversations with adults these days is so important to our mental health. Grab your favorite person and just talk about anything and everything. My friends and I try to do this at least once a week and it’s been a lifesaver. Also, if you haven’t tried it yet, there is an app for your phone called Marco Polo and it is life-changing. Check it out if you haven’t heard of it. 

To prepare for our last video “meeting” (that’s what I tell my family), I dropped off a bottle of Mionetto to my friend’s house. It was an easy drop and dash with acceptable distancing and no contact. I brought her favorite bottle of Mionetto Rosé Extra Dry and a ‘save the date’ for our meeting, left it on her doorstep, and called to let her know I was there (and standing far away). 

Just so you know, our meeting lasted 3 hours, and we enjoyed our wine and had lots of laughs. It’s nice to share this experience with someone else and know that you aren’t alone. Sometimes you just need that so you can recharge.

Take care of yourself! 

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