Another item for your To Do list

In the September 2005 issue of Working Mother magazine, children's author and humorist Sandra Boynton wrote, "Working mothers are not realistic about the number of commitments they take on." (An aphorism that I believe applies to ALL mothers, not just those who work outside the home.) This is particularly true during the holiday season. At last check, here are the items on my To Do list for this week:

* Send out holiday cards. (Completed this afternoon!)
* Bake mother-in-law's famous Rum Butter cookies.
* Make mother-in-law's famous fudge.
* Thank the heavens that my mother wasn't much of a baker.
* Purchase (and ship) holiday gifts for assorted in-laws, nieces, and nephews.
* Purchase gift cards for cleaning lady, hairdresser, preschool teachers,
* Purchase hostess gifts for the approximately 426 holiday parties we are attending over the next few weeks.
* Keep up with a three-year-old.
* Prep a magazine to be sent to the printer.
* Scan an entire photo album's worth of photos to put on CD-ROM to send to relatives. (Note to self - I promised that this would be done for the holidays LAST YEAR.)
* Meet with architect to figure out why we can't get a contractor to work on our house for less than $300 a square foot.
* Prepare a dish for the preschool "family dinner" on Friday.
* Get a haircut.
* Attend office holiday bacchanalia.

The point here is that we all have a ton of things to do, but the one thing that gets left out is taking care of OURSELVES. This leads to holiday stress, mass consumption of sugared foods, and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Rather than sacrificing our workouts to make time for this onslaught of activities, it is more important that ever to carve out the time that we need to listen to our bodies and to - yes - spoil ourselves. That is why my yoga classes are even more sacrosanct than ever, why I still venture out for runs and walks in the early morning hours despite the arctic chill, and why I am looking forward to a pedicure at the end of the month.

As the cliche goes, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" So, take the time to move your body, find your inner om, or paint your toenails a color that makes you smile. Your family will thank you for it.

The CD-ROM can wait another year.