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"    As mothers, we&amp;#039;ve all heard over the years that we really should take time for ourselves. It&amp;#039;s a no-brainer, right? Even when we fly, the flight attendants tell us to attend to our own needs before those of our children. It&amp;#039;s a crystal-clear concept with which almost no one argues. But do any mothers actually take the time? If so, what do we do with the time, and exactly how much time are we taking? In a recently released study from mom.me, more than half of all mothers that participated admitted they are finding their &amp;quot;me&amp;quot; time either late at night or early in the morning. I know these are times that I&amp;#039;ve been successful at carving out of my busy schedule, but I often feel resentful when I do this. It makes me feel as if my alone time, during which I decompress and do things to enrich myself, can only come at the cost of sacrificing my sleep. I&amp;#039;ve instituted some &amp;quot;Mom&amp;quot; time this summer during the day. I did this, quite frankly, because I was tired of spending every waking moment doing things for other people. It finally hit me one night when I was washing dishes long after everyone else had gone to bed; I realized that my entire day \u2014 and week \u2014 had been the same. This &amp;quot;Mom&amp;quot; time is time that is just mine. I might go to my room and close the door, or if I have child care, I take myself on a &amp;quot;date.&amp;quot; Some of my solo date activities include going to the movies alone, taking myself to lunch, or going shopping \u2014 but I&amp;#039;m strictly forbidden from purchasing anything for my children. This time is all about me. I don&amp;#039;t feel guilty about taking this time. Everyone needs some down time.  When I take time to put myself first and devote even a small chunk of time to &amp;quot;me,&amp;quot; it allows me to be a better parent. I&amp;#039;m more relaxed, I take things more in stride, and I tend to have more patience. I find that I can take that deep breath and not fly off the handle at my children when they are doing the things that can be annoying, and I don&amp;#039;t lose my temper quite so quickly with the slow drivers or the inept store clerk. Where do we prefer to spend our &amp;quot;me&amp;quot; time? According to the study, one out of 10 moms spends that time on the Internet or computer. The study didn&amp;#039;t answer where the other nine moms are hanging out, but I&amp;#039;d venture it&amp;#039;s probably a coffee shop, restaurant, or shopping mall. I know other women, though, who spend their &amp;quot;me&amp;quot; time in less traditional ways: riding a motorcycle, perhaps, or training for a race. Exercise is a great use of &amp;quot;me&amp;quot; time. Exercise increases the endorphins that are released into your bloodstream \u2014 the feel-good hormones that improve your mood. It gives you time to empty your mind. I find exercise time is a great time for me to puzzle through any dilemmas or struggles I&amp;#039;m currently facing.  Forty percent of women who did not take &amp;quot;me time&amp;quot; had at least one child between the ages of four and eight, and 84% were married or living with someone. Taking time for yourself can be difficult if you have smaller children, and sometimes your spouse might object. Many of the women who were consulted admitted to feeling guilty if they took &amp;quot;me&amp;quot; time. We all know that life with children, especially small children, can be draining. Instead of feeling as if you are taking something away from your family by leaving them for an hour or two, think of it as adding to your ability to be a better parent. Increasing your resistance, if you will, and buffering yourself against the tough times. And who couldn&amp;#039;t use that? Carmen Staicer is a whirlwind of movement. When she&amp;#039;s not ferrying her six children to their various sports/drama/forensics/track meets, she&amp;#039;s usually to be found exercising. She&amp;#039;s an avid fan of 5K and 8K races and she recently earned her Black Belt in Muay Thai boxing. She never sleeps enough, reads avidly, lives on Vietnamese coffee and is a fan of cupcakes, vodka and nachos. If you can&amp;#039;t find her, she&amp;#039;s probably been buried under the vast mountain of laundry that never seems to dissipate. Look for her at her main blog, Mom to the Screaming Masses, where she chronicles her story of one woman&amp;#039;s insanity with her six kids. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/news/a14212/mom-taking-me-time/>