Guest Author - Paula Petrie

You’re a mom! You’ve taken leave from your job or quit to stay home with your growing family. But after weeks of diaper changes, scheduled feedings and far less rest than you would like, you’ve discovered a nagging void that peek-a-boo can’t quite fill. Our 'selves’ are often the last thing on our agendas. But, I can’t possibly understate the importance of being full and calm to effectively do a mother’s job. That job, of course, can be summed up in one word, give.

Surprising as it is to discover, and although initially hard to make time, you still crave and need a personal life. You're in luck! This is the perfect time to explore. Find what you are passionate about as your life changes. Hooking up some passion in your life is important for your health and for the sake of your family.

Not every thing you would like to pursue requires a sitter. Many things can be creatively adjusted to your new lifestyle. The Internet offers many opportunities for training, to advance or change your career. Also, through the Internet many opportunities for home employment exist as well.

I turned baby and child’s outdoor playtime into a chance to work-out. The vitality I gained from this made it so worth it I would almost call it necessary.

My motivator was three parts, one being the increased need to maintain my health for the sake of my dependant family. Two; I had very active preschoolers, I never knew when I might need to out-run one of them for safety sake. Part three; I would get damp and cold waiting around for my warm, active kids to be ready to go inside. The benefits of joining my kids in exercise were that I began to feel like my old physical self again and mentally I became much more tuned-in to my life. A gym or private time are not required or easy to come by, but motivation is.

I began writing in my forties. There are many times over the years when writing would have been an excellent release for me. It is an area that I felt I might have some degree of, debatable, talent (I was handy and eager when it came to business letters.) The reason that I steered clear of journaling for so long was that when I let loose, and passionately scribed my thoughts and feelings, I would immediately dissolve into shame at how enormously stupid I sounded. I regret not cutting myself some slack and loving myself enough to understand what I was seeing was just raw emotion.

The results are the chronicle of my life and struggles, deep feelings that I suffered when losing loved ones, precious epiphanies gained through raising my family, became lost to what my memory chooses to give up. I in fact, short-changed the potential I held all those years. I recommend that you don’t do the same. Hook up to your passion!