The Embodied Traveler
15 hours in a car. Potty stops every 1-2 hours. Navigator. Entrepreneur. Disagreement Resolution. Snack Advisor. Soother. Fun Creator. DJ. Activity Host. The roles I hold on a road trip vacation are vast.
At times its unavoidable not to fall into the madness..pulling my hair out, twitching at every kick to my backseat, yelling and smacking anything my arm can reach in the back seat(that is my own mothers trademark move). But where does that get me in the end? Even more frazzled, on edge, and barely restraining my own urge to kick and scream.
Ladies, this world has laden us with more responsibilities then we can sometimes handle. Some of these responsibilities are built into our normal workload and they are not recognized( One of my teachers Jenna Ward speaks on this beautifully on her podcast). But I see YOU. I know what YOU do. All the little extra tasks we are expected to do. to do. to do. to do. Sooooo much to do.
It is time for a conversation with yourself, your partner, your kids. We can not continue to carry so much.
Currently I am on vacation with my partner, his mother, and my kids. Here are a few ways I have been sharing the load and creating the space I need(for my sanity).
Right now I have head phones on and am taking a moment for my business to write this post. My partner knows his role at this time, and the kids are kept busy
Kids are sleeping with Grandma and she makes sure they are washed and ready to go, when we need to go
There have been many conversations with my kids about fighting, yelling, disturbing the driver, small spaces in the car. You would be surprised with the outcome of a good pre-fight conversation RATHER than a current fight REACTION
Ask for help. I took the role of martyr for a long ass time. As I think many women do. I would get in the cycle of doing it all, that way I would have a reason to be pissed that my ex didn’t help. So unhealthy, and a hard cycle to break, but not worth the work load and all the resentment
Keep up with your morning ritual, your self love! Just because you are on vacation does not mean this should stop. I forget that sometimes and I always feel the difference. I need my coffee, body touch, sun salutations, a quick read, crossword… not all of them, just a quick lil something that reminds me to fill my cup so i can fill others
Share your load ladies. Speak up. Take up space. You are worth it. There is no such thing as women’s work and mens work, that is a patriarchal myth. It is not serving us any longer.
Ask for help if you cant do that on your own. I would love to hear about your struggles and your triumphs in this area! You can reach me HERE
