Hello There Self...

     As my previous blog posts have made abundantly clear, being pregnant and having a child is all-consuming. Every waking thought is in some way centered around said child--their needs, their wants, and in my case--frantically coming up with ideas to entertain him during his wakeful times. (Mr. Wonderful has no worries in this department, as he is naturally entertaining, and elicited Junior's first laugh from him just last week.)
     But there comes a point when you begin to miss...well, yourself. Just a little. The aspects of yourself that make you uniquely you; your hobbies, and as discussed in detail on SATC, the quirky things you do when you're alone. (I believe they referred to it as Secret Single Behavior, but it applies to anybody!)

    
     Just this week, I have begun to make a slight comeback. On Sunday evening I went shopping for long, baggy tunics and sweaters, and cheap jeans in a size I hope will shortly be far too large for me. Earlier on Sunday I had washed, dried and straightened my hair. This process takes me about an hour so it was no small task. But it made me feel more like me. The girl with the frizzy hair piled on top of her head that's been lurking around my house in a bathrobe for the past 8 weeks is not going to be here forever--I'm determined! And to add to the increase in "self" I've seen lately, I got up this morning and combined the following ingredients in a blender:

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 banana
5 large frozen strawberries
1 cup strawberry-banana V8 Fusion
1 handful fresh spinach

And I drank it all! Minus the workout that usually follows a protein shake like this, it reminded me very much of the morning routine I had in place prior to pregnancy. The workouts will come as soon as my brother-in-law can help Mr. Wonderful move my treadmill back into our office...poor Todd!
    
     All these little activities are so small--tiny, really--that nobody else would think it remarkable that I've managed to incorporate them back into my days. But really, it's huge. In 8 weeks I've gone from feeling as though I were flying by the seat of my pants without a parachute to driving on a paved road with the occasional pothole. It is impossible to do this (parenting) long-term without taking care of yourself, without treating yourself and without reminding yourself to be yourself. It was a gradual wake-up call for me. I am not just Junior's mama. I'm still me, I'm still Mr. Wonderful's wife, I'm still a daughter and I'm still a friend.
     The friend aspect especially is something that I realized today I have been failing miserably to do. A close friend, who is pregnant and the mother to an almost 10 month old lives what feels like forever away. She sounded so tired when I spoke to her today. I realized I have not asked her how she was feeling near enough as of late, and was so surprised to hear she's going out of the country next week! Every conversation with her the past few weeks has been about Junior, and she's been more than happy to help me with my issues with his napping problems.
I have not kept up with others' goings-on as I should--I've let the parenting role dominate me! Today is going to be the start of reverting back to the old me in that department as well--taking an active interest in those I care so much about.

So, tell me: Any major event in your life ever lead you to neglect being you?