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With school back in Season, Football Season beginning and Fall here September can be a busy month even for my family with David working and Charlie wanting to do Drivers Ed and looking for a job. Not.

When homeschool starts for a lot of families that means homeschool gets back into a routine. Activities begin and calendars fill up. There are appointments to remember, meals to plan, laundry that somehow multiplies overnight, and a whole lot of people who need something from us.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, it can become very easy to forget about ourselves. I’m not talking about booking a spa day, going shopping, finding a babysitter, or disappearing for an entire afternoon.

Those things can be wonderful, but sometimes they just aren’t realistic. I’m talking about little things. Ten minutes here. Fifteen minutes there. Something simple that reminds us that we are people, too—not just the ones keeping everybody else on schedule.

So this September, let’s make a little room for ourselves.

1. Drink Your Coffee While It’s Still Hot: You know what I’m talking about. You make the coffee. Somebody needs something. You put the coffee down. You get distracted.

You come back to it later and discover it is approximately the temperature of a swimming pool in December. So you reheat it. Then you forget about it again.

Maybe September is the month we try something different. Drink the coffee. While it’s hot. Sit down for five minutes if you can. Take a breath. Enjoy it. And if somebody asks you to do something while you’re drinking it, they can wait five minutes.

Sometimes that cup of coffee is not just coffee. It’s five quiet minutes that belong to you. If they get mad or upset trust me Buttercup they will get over it and if not that is okay to.

2. Read a Few Pages of a Book You Actually Want to Read: Not a parenting book. Not a school book. Not something somebody else told you that you should read.

Pick up your book. Maybe it’s a mystery or a romance. Maybe it’s history or a cookbook you want to read from cover to cover. Maybe it’s a book you’ve had sitting on the nightstand for six months. You don’t have to finish a chapter. Read three pages. Read ten. Read until somebody needs you again. Those few pages still count.

And if you’re participating in our 30-Minute Reading Challenge, remember that reading something you enjoy is part of the fun, too.

3. Sit Outside for Ten Minutes: This one doesn’t require anything except a chair. Go outside. Sit down and leave the phone and tablet inside and don’t make it productive.

You don’t have to pull weeds and you don’t have to sweep the porch. You don’t have to water anything. Just sit. Listen to the birds. Watch the clouds. Feel the breeze. Drink your coffee.

Ten minutes isn’t going to solve every problem in your life, but it might give your brain a chance to slow down for a few minutes. Sometimes that’s enough.

4. Take a Walk; And no, I’m not going to tell you that you need to walk five miles, or that you need to hit a certain number of steps, or turn it into a workout.

Just walk. Walk around the block. Walk down the driveway. Walk through the neighborhood. Walk around the yard. Just you no, kids, no, pets, no, phones and enjoy the quite time.

Sometimes walking gives us a chance to think without everybody asking us a question at the same time. And sometimes you don’t even need to think. You just need to breathe.

5. Put on Music You Enjoy: There are plenty of songs in our lives that we hear because somebody else chose them. The kids have their music and the television has its music.

The car has somebody else’s playlist. So put on something you like. Turn it up if you want. Sing along if you want. Dance around the kitchen if you want. You don’t need a special occasion to listen to music that makes you happy.

And yes, you are allowed to choose the song. If someone comes in and says your music is to loud tell them to get a life. If they try and change the song or turn your music off tell them no, its okay Buttercup they will survive.

6. Call Someone You Haven’t Talked to in a While: Not a text. Not a Facebook comment. Actually call somebody. On the phone and make time for a real conversation not a rushed hello and good-bye.

When deciding who to call it could be the friend who makes you laugh. Or your sister or brother if you have one. Your parents if you have them. Or a cousin. Or an old friend you haven’t talked to in far too long.

Sometimes there is something wonderful about talking to someone who knew you before you became the person everybody called when they needed something.

You don’t have to have an important reason to call them: “You can simply say, “I was thinking about you.” That might be exactly what both of you needed.

7. Make Yourself a Favorite Snack: And don’t automatically give half of it away. Seriously. Make something you love. Toast with butter and cinnamon. A bowl of popcorn. A piece of fruit. A cookie.

Whatever your favorite little treat happens to be. You don’t always have to make the snack everybody else likes. Every once in a while, make something because you want it. And enjoy every bite.

8. Work on a Hobby; Remember those things you used to enjoy? Maybe you still enjoy them. Maybe you just haven’t had time for them lately. Pick one back up.

Read. Take pictures. Work on a puzzle. Garden. Craft. Cook something new. Write. Draw. Build something. Work on a collection. Or just sit and relax with a puzzle or book.

Whatever it is, you don’t need three uninterrupted hours. Fifteen minutes counts. Sometimes getting started again is the hardest part. Or it is for me most of the time.

9. Look Through Old Family Photographs: This one might sound strange because we usually think of looking at old pictures as something we do with the family.

But sometimes you can do it by yourself. Pull out an old photo album. Scroll through pictures on your computer. Look at the kids when they were little and the people who are no, longer with us.

Look at birthdays, holidays, vacations, ordinary Tuesday afternoons and all those pictures you took because you thought you’d want to remember the moment.

And don’t turn it into a project. You don’t have to organize them. You don’t have to scan them. You don’t have to make a scrapbook. Just remember. Sometimes looking back at the good moments reminds us that all those busy days really were building a life.

10. Give Yourself Permission to Have a Quiet Evening: This may be the hardest one. You don’t have to accomplish something every night which is hard for me.

The laundry will still be there tomorrow. The dishes aren’t going anywhere. The house does not have to look perfect before you are allowed to sit down. Some evenings can simply be quiet.

Put on comfortable clothes. Read. Watch something you enjoy. Listen to music. Sit outside. Have a cup of coffee—or tea, or whatever you like. Go to bed early. Do absolutely nothing for a little while. You are allowed.

For families September can be a month of new schedules, school routines, activities, homework, appointments, errands, and trying to get everybody where they need to be.

But somewhere in the middle of all that, don’t forget the person making so much of it happen. You deserve a little September reset, too. It doesn’t have to be big.

It doesn’t have to cost anything. And it doesn’t have to be something somebody else gives you permission to do. Sometimes ten quiet minutes, a hot cup of coffee, a few pages of a good book, or an evening with nowhere to go is enough to remind you that you’re more than the person who keeps everybody else moving.

You are part of this family, too. Your interests matter. Your memories matter. Your rest matters. And sometimes taking care of yourself doesn’t mean doing something big. Sometimes it simply means remembering that you matter, too.

So this September, take a little time for yourself. Even if it’s only ten minutes. And if somebody asks what you’re doing? Tell them you’re taking a little time for you. I think that’s a pretty good September tradition to start.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.

GreatfulMoments.com

Thank you,

Glenda, David and Charlie Cates.