Please can I have some time off?

Small and I had a lengthy chat this week about why people need time off from their jobs. He has his heart set on being a police chief when he is older, and was surprised to hear that he won’t be expected to work seven days a week ‘catching the bad guys’.

It was a very sweet conversation, but it made me reflect on the two parts of my life that I don’t get a break from: parenting and my health conditions. One of them is a wonderful blessing that I have chosen, and one is a not-so-nice complication that has been thrown at me. But over the past few weeks I have felt ‘at the end of my tether’ with both. And our little chat made me realise I’m not being unreasonable.

We all need a break sometimes, but time off is more tricky to organise in some situations.

Tiny goes to preschool in January and while I will really miss her, it will definitely be good for me to have some time to do things on my own. So that’s something to hold on to at the moment, while being a stay-at-home parent feels tough and unrelenting. I’m so appreciative of some encouraging words from a friend the other day. She commented on how patient I was being with Tiny (I really didn’t feel like I was) and it gave me a much needed boost. It reminded me that this difficult, important discipline stuff is all worth it.

The health situation is more difficult to take a break from – there really is no way I can not be diabetic for a day, or give up checking packets and just chow down on wheaty cookies. But I guess I can savour the times when things are going well and life isn’t as stressful. I also need to make sure I am doing the things that bring me joy and life, rather than just taking the chance to hoover or do boring jobs.

I’d love to hear your suggestions on how to ‘take a break’ from chronic illness!