TIME, TIME, TIME, see what’s become of me…

I am having one helluva TIME making TIME for myself. This is has become incredibly apparent in the recent month, when I’ve been unable to make TIME to get to the gym. People have begun to notice. There is whispering, taunting, disdain. My pass card for the gym is covered with dust. It’s becoming a real problem.

So here’s the thing. I’m a single mother. I have a nine-year-old boy, two dogs, and four cats. And fish (can’t forget the fish). I have a lot of responsibilities which fall squarely on only my shoulders, which are not limited to, but include spending quality TIME with my kiddo, taking the dogs to the park, grocery shopping, making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning, or just flopping down exhaustedly on the bed after a busy, tough day. Often I’m so tired by the end of my full-TIME work week that Saturdays and Sundays are a bust, and only used for recuperation.

I used to make TIME during my lunch hour to go to the gym, which was very convenient. My father (who I live with) was home to hang with the dogs, my kiddo was at the babysitter’s house, and I was able to eat my lunch at my desk. However, for six weeks every summer, I am required to go home during my lunch hour to care for the animals. Gym TIME – gone. Hopefully now with Daddio’s return, I’ll be able to get back on that schedule.

I know what you’re thinking: that it’s just a ½ hour to an hour every day, and that it shouldn’t be hard to carve out that much TIME for myself. Let me tell you though – IT IS. I do not have a husband to take care of the kid, my home, or my pets for me. I do not have an older kid who doesn’t care when I’m home, or not. He still wants to spend TIME with me, and that’s fleeting and priceless. I do not WANT to take TIME away from my child, simply because he’s my job, and my responsibility. (And I love him.)

So what is the solution? Freeze my gym membership and work out with Jameson? That could work, but accountability goes out the window, and I also wouldn’t have access to the quality equipment that the gym offers (of my lovely friends who work there).  Realize that life is short and I NEED TO MAKE TIME FOR MYSELF? Easier said than done. Just frickin’ suck this up and get ‘er done? Hmmm…

It’s a conundrum, folks. Any creative suggestions are appreciated. 

As an afterthought, I figured you’d all want to know that I’m still down 20 lbs, with 80 more to go in the next year. I hope to be a svelte MILF (too much?) by my 40^th birthday, and am still working toward that goal!