What Every Mommy Needs Most

As many of you are aware, I turned 40 a little over a month ago. I was a little unnerved, I’d heard so many horror stories about this milestone. Then my birthday came and the impending doom never came. I did not self-destruct. I had not reached my expiration date but it did ignite a fire in me. It forced me to stop for a brief minute (because even though I am 40, my girls are only 5 and 7 and time waits for no mommy in this house) and take inventory.

For the most part, things in my life are pretty great. Marriage= Awesome (which seems to be no small feat these days with the divorce rate being rampant). Kids=Amazing (Healthy/funny/beautiful/kind and strong). Husband=Best friend (He may not be perfect but he is absolutely perfect for me). Career= Dream Job. Seriously, we’ve got the new house, the husband has a good job, we live near family, the kids are happy and the people in our lives are good people. We are at the “we’ve already waded through the bullshit” stage and it is nice to be here.

But I’ve habitually neglected myself; my wants, needs and even basic upkeep. You can argue with me but my roots, hairy legs and slight mustache would beg to differ.

As a mom, everyone else comes first. Which is shocking to me because I was a very self-absorbed 20-something. I work from home so its assumed that it’s my responsibility to make sure that everyone else is fed, clothed and the house is clean. My husband works an hour and a half away in another state, so he’s not here a good chunk of the day. It is then left up to me to run the errands, pay the bills, shuttle children, schedule appointments, buy groceries, clean clothes, do homework and make meals, bathe the kids, feed the fish, and everything else. I need a wife, truly. It’s not because my family takes me for granted, it’s because I’m the one who is home all day. I’m sure this sounds familiar to many of you.

My goal is to start small and do one thing a week ( for the next year) just for me. I want to feel good about how I take care of myself and present myself to the world. I’m making a commitment each week to another item on the list and, eventually, I will have made myself a priority in my own life. I’ve got all my balls in the air and the ball labeled “me” seems to have been lying on the floor the entire time collecting dust and I never even noticed it. Well, I’m noticing it now.

This week, I am coloring my hair. I’m not usually afraid of change. Remember when I cut all my hair off earlier this year? But coloring my hair is harder for me to do.

Soon after Gabs was born, I went in for a cut and caramel highlights. The colorist needed to lighten my dark hair in order to put in caramel highlights, the product she put on my hair began to sizzle, the damage was done. $400 later (yes, she still charged me) and my hair was fried. I mean dry, frizzy, discolored (I looked quite a bit like the love child of a raccoon and a calico cat). I cried for days and would not leave the house. Let’s face it, my hormones were not in the best shape, I was exhausted and insecure about my body and now my hair was ruined. I eventually had to chop my hair off. It took 3 years to get all the damaged hair gone. I have been absolutely terrified to have another colorist touch my hair.

I’ve decided to go the natural route. No, I’m definitely not letting my gray grow out. I tried Naturtint and I loved it. No dry, straw feeling and it looks beautiful and natural ( no dead cats on my head) and even better than that, no harsh chemicals. Good for me and good for the planet.  Includes botanical extracts that revitalize hair. Pleasant smelling — no ammonia, no parabens, no resorcinol. It Covers gray in one application and there are 29 mixable shades, so there’s a color just right for everyone.

This is the beginning of my year long journey to making time for me. I hope you will join me, tell me in the comments what chance you’ve taken in life that really paid off? Life’s too short to be afraid of new experiences. Let’s go for it!

Disclaimer: I was provided with Naturtint products for the purpose of review but all opinions expressed are my own.