Learning to Relax By Connie Sokol- The Red Headed Hostess
I have mentioned before that I often hear Connie Sokol on a local program (Studio 5) around here. And she just has GREAT advice about how to relax – especially for women and mothers!
AND she is offering an AWESOME giveaway!
Here it is:
“Celebrate my new Mother’s Day book, The Life is Too Short Collection, by entering to win a $150 Mother’s Day Gift Basket (Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Connie’s Goodies). To enter, join our “Life is Too Short” motherhood contest by emailing your paragraph-to-a-page mother moment where you learned something pivotal, poignant, or pretty hilarious to [email protected] (free gifts to weekly winners until Mother’s Day!)
You can read the last winner’s entry below the following article:
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Learning to Relax
By Connie Sokol
After chatting with several friends over the past few days about relaxing, I have realized yet again that we women are WOUND. Do you feel that way? Do you wake up with a knot in your stomach or feel like you’re walking on eggshells, waiting for the penny to drop, the clock to strike, the disaster to hit? A friend I talked to said that during a typical conversation with someone, the other person said, “Why are you clenching your fists?”
This is a rational, nice woman who openly confesses that she is wound (which, of course, wouldn’t be any of us).
Living this way is not only tough on our bodies and emotions but is a one-way ticket to panic attacks, primal screams, alienating all known forms of friends and losing our hair.
Instead, consider a few thoughts (that I really need to follow):
Take an actual “time” time-out.
One friend said that she literally sent her husband and many children to their annual Disneyland trip without her. This was completely intentional. For the first time in a very, very long while, she had the house to herself (didn’t she want to run through it, dancing in her bathrobe?). It was joy. It was divine. It was sublime. Of course they came home and she then she was back to cracking out the B12s as fast she could open them but those four days were fabulous.
Breathe.
When your son says he has a broken foot, the teacher calls and says you have to bring him RIGHT NOW to finish official and very vital state testing, your baby has thrown up on you, your husband forgot his cell phone and needs you to drive it an hour away while you forgot the spaghetti noodles boiling on the stove, and because of the stench you all have to live in the basement for two days, HEY, BREATHE.
Live life one day at a time
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Though planning ahead is a great skill, we women can get too ahead of ourselves and squelch the fun—and the growth. In my smug way of trying to prevent all forms of accidents and bad choices for my children, I inadvertently ruin many a good teaching moment.
My job for today is to LIVE, and hopefully, to LIVE WELL; simply that. I can enjoy loving my children, stopping and looking at the sky, tasting a bit of delicious chocolate, laughing at my 3-year-old’s antics, lying on the floor and breathing (see prior step).
If you’re reading this and feeling relaxed, congratulations! You are allowing yourself to let go already. If, however, you are gripping the side of the book or computer, I invite you to reread this essay, this time lying on the grass, looking up at the sky…
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Looking for a fabulous life boost?
The Life is Too Short Collection is just what you need. Written by Connie Sokol—mother of seven, author, speaker, and amazing matching sock finder—these humorous self-development columns give you the right amount of fun and functional.
Originally written for a major newspaper and magazines, enjoy all three Life is Too Short books in this convenient one-book collection: Life is Too Short for One Hair Color, Life is Too Short for Sensible Shoes, and Life is Too Short for Linoleum.
Put your feet up and laugh as you relate to time-tested tips on being a woman, wife, and mother. Discover how to feel more daily joy, deal with marital differences, and navigate parenthood. These powerful columns are perfect anytime to rejuvenate your mind and soul.
Full of kitchen table wisdom with a side of humor, The Life is Too Short Collection is the ideal gift for every woman!
“I wasn’t even finished with Connie’s book before I felt renewed. Every woman needs to read this and be blessed by her wisdom and humor. Life can be a simpler and happier. She has the formula. Thank you, Connie!” —Joy Lundberg, Co-author of I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better
“Every page reminds me of Erma Bombeck as Connie dares us to laugh at ourselves (and to forgive ourselves, too) for loving our kids too much and measuring ourselves too harshly…If you doubt your ability to make the most of marriage and motherhood, this book will help you believe again. But, keep the tissues nearby. You’ll need them to wipe away your tears from laughter!” –Rebecca Cressman, KSL Radio Host
