Kristi Rolin
July 30, 2025
There were a number of years when our kids were young that I didn’t take time for myself. I just kept pouring into the kids, homeschooling, keeping up with the house, errands, running the kids to their activities, and then dropping into bed exhausted at night. I didn’t realize how important it is to take time for myself and take time to rest until Carla mentioned it in one of the Mom’s Notes presentations.
I learned I needed to protect myself by giving myself some time alone and some time to rest in my daily routine. If I didn’t, I would pour everything I had into the kids and not pace myself to be able to give to my marriage in the evenings. I started building time in my day for my kids to play independently, do some of their school work independently, and help me with the cooking and cleaning. This gave me the extra time I needed to be able to schedule some down time for all of us after lunch in the afternoons.
I also found I needed some time in my evenings to transition from being home with the kids all day to being a wife to my husband at night. My husband started working with the kids on cleaning up after dinner without me – and this gave me time to catch my breath, recharge my battery, and switch gears by having a little time alone. We would do couch time on the back patio, or take walks after dinner to decompress from a long day when the kids were old enough to clean up the kitchen by themselves and be home alone for a little while. This time with my husband recharged my battery and helped me focus on my marriage after focusing on the kids all day long.
Once I gave myself permission to not expend all my energy during the day I began to: take a little time for myself and rest, be alone for a small part of each day, and learn how to switch gears from being a mom to a wife and save some of my energy to focus on my husband at night to stay connected to him. I soon realized I was a much better mother and wife when I paced myself and gave myself a little time alone each day.
Take a look at your routine and ask yourself:
– Do you have small pockets of time for yourself scheduled into your day?
– Do you have time to spend talking to God?
– Do you know your limits and know how to pace yourself throughout your day?
– Do you train your children to do some things independently from you?
– Do you have time in your routine to rest and recharge your battery?
– Do you need a transition time from being a mom all day to being a wife?
– Do you save some of your energy for your husband in the evenings?
Pray about how to add some time for yourself into your daily routine so you aren’t always running on empty, your husband and children will have a happier wife and mother!
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
John 4:7
Have you listened to this Mom’s Notes presentation?
“Fundamentals” discusses ten often overlooked things such as meeting your child’s love language, giving your kids praise and encouragement and more, giving fresh, practical tips for applying them.
Parenting Made Practical Podcasts
#22 “Parenting as Partners” – Working together as husband and wife to get on the same parenting page is essential to train your kids in the way they should go. In this podcast we talk about how we got on the same page in our parenting and why staying on the same page is the best way to be effective parents.