Being a working Mom takes up almost every waking moment. If I’m not at work I’m thinking about work. If I’m not at work or thinking about work I’m taking care of my kids or thinking about them. Sometimes I’m doing it all at once. Working from home since the quarantine started has largely eliminated any feelings I had of work life balance. I know I’m not the only one either. It’s hard work to carve out time for the blog let alone something completely unrelated to work or kids or cleaning the house. “Me Time” has been somewhat unattainable.
I’ve mentioned before that I used to have lots of hobbies before the kids. Once upon a time I decided to try soap making. I enjoyed it but it was a short lived hobby because a single person can really only use so much soap and I moved on to another craft. Like a good little crafter I held onto my supplies but I nearly threw all of them in the trash a couple of months ago. Fortunately I didn’t.
Soap making is back in action! I’ve been ordering new supplies left and right and dreaming up new scent and oil combinations. The soap is fun to make. People are even interested in buying it and that’s exciting too. The most exciting part is making it though. For now I’m just using a melt and pour soap base and not making it from scratch. It’s a much faster process and requires less investment.
I’ve missed having a hobby that had nothing to do with the kids or work. I’d taken up embroidery for a while and enjoyed it but it can be time consuming. Cooking is fun but when you have to do it to feed your family and not just to make something cool it loses its appeal. Nothing like cooking something fancy only to hear someone whine about how they don’t like it to make you feel defeated. The kids like to help me with the soap and it’s a rather quick process. The Conqueror likes to scrape the leftover soap out of the bowl and they all enjoy smelling it as I mix it up.
I feel so accomplished when my soap is hardened and I can cut it and bag it. It’s a silly little thing but it’s good for my spirit. It’s a good lesson for me about self care. Self care is something I greatly struggle with even though I’ve gotten better about it. I think The Hubs sees that it’s good for me to have this time too. He’s always supportive when I’m trying new things but he’s working harder than ever to give me the support I need. I love him more now than I ever have and tell him often.
When all of this is over I may have a thousand bars of soap but that’s okay. The creation of each one will have helped to wash away a little of my stress. Scrub a dub dub!
Mom Van Confessions 