When to Take A Stop-and-Smell-the-Roses Break for Mom

I believe in a stop-and-smell-the-roses philosophy of life. We all deserve a little break, time to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on the back porch (alone!), a moment to read a mom blog or app, a break to sit and ask our kids about their day. Everyone deserves a little recharge time every day, maybe more than once a day -- especially moms.

I grow roses. Not well, but I grow them. I have some Zephirine Drouhin climbers that are trailing nicely along my back fence. They are smell like raspberries with fuchsia colored blooms. But they only bloom for a short while each May.

Last year at the time they bloomed, I was extremely busy with my job. I remember wanting to stop and take a whole day to enjoy them. But work was so busy. So off I went. The blooms passed. I said next year I'd stop for a day and just smell the roses. My Zephirine roses.

This year, I was at a better job and in a much better place. The roses bloomed. I enjoyed them. I wanted to stop and take a day off just to smell them. But it was around May Fete, a school-fundraiser carnival. I took a day off, but shuttled kids to the carnival on my big day off.

So I had my stop-and-smell-the-roses day. But instead of smelling roses, I enjoyed my kids. They rode rides, ate crazy snacks and had a blast. I made sure they had tickets for games. I was there to hold the plastic swords, trinkets and stuffed animals they won. Yes, I was a coat rack too. But that's part of being a mom.

The roses are past now. You could say I missed them. But I made my choice. I stopped. But instead of smelling roses literally, I was there to see my school agers smile, laugh and run wild. I hope they remember that I was there when I could be. I'll remember how much fun they had. Their joy. Their smiles.  

Plus, if you think about it, I can always get those Knock-Out roses. They bloom all summer.