I was just invited, and accepted, to join the National Society of Leadership and Success, due to my GPA with Southern New Hampshire University. I am excited to be part of an Honor Society, to feel I deserve it. Part of the induction process involves watching broadcasts from speakers for the society. Currently, there are no live speakers scheduled, so I was able to choose from some prerecorded ones. I chose to listen to Christina Wallace, Kevin Hart, and Kelly Ripa. I grew up watching Kelly Ripa on All My Children with my great aunt and grandmother and aunt. I remember when she moved away from the soap opera to her talk show, and I never watched it. She will always be from All My Children in my head, no matter how many years ago that was.

They are, of course, supposed to be inspiring speeches, but what Kelly Ripa said in hers really meant something to me. A student that is already a member of the society asked her how she balanced everything in her life. We all know that they say moms need to make time for themselves. Moms (all parents, but I’m a mom, specifically) always put their kids first, their jobs first, their husbands first, the house first, themselves last. We are all told we have to make times for ourselves. We all know it makes sense. We all know we should. We try. We don’t.

She made the best analogy I’ve ever heard. I don’t know if she originated it or stole it, but I am attributing it to her. You know how when you travel on an airplane, they tell you to put on your oxygen mask before you help others? The reason being that if you have no oxygen and you pass out, now no one can help the others that may need it. This is the PERFECT analogy for parents balancing their lives healthily. If you burn yourself out, you honestly cannot take care of your own family. You HAVE to put yourself and your health, both physical and mental, first.

This is something I struggle to do since I have so much I am juggling at once. I have my full time job, which I often pick up extra hours to help pay bills. I have all my direct sales companies and my Etsy store. I have my schoolwork. I have all the things involved with raising a 2 and 3 year old. I have a husband that has constant doctor appointments. There’s rarely enough hours in the day to find time for myself. But I know that if I do not focus on myself, there won’t be a me to do all the other things I need to do for my family.

This is the best analogy I have ever heard for why I need to take care of myself for my family. It definitely put everything in perspective for me and I am glad I heard it now, while my kids are young enough for me to implement it, because it will only get harder as I add more intense homeschooling to the mix (although, thankfully, when this happens, my own schooling will be over). I will make sure I start carving out time for myself every day to focus on my own well-being.

Thank you Kelly RIpa.