One morning she woke up and knew it was going to be an extremely busy day. She did not even have time to think of what she had to do first. Waking up stressed out is not the way to start one's day, especially a day like today. Kathy was always busy, why should she not be with three kids and a full time job, while still wanting to complete mom tasks with her kids at any chance she had. Her kids; Sarah age 13, Peter age 6, and John age 3, all knew their mom did everything she could for them and although she was busy she always made time for them. Being a mom is hard, ask any mother and they will agree with that statement, however although it's hard in the end it is so worth it to see everything your children do and accomplish throughout their lives.
       Everyone needs time to themselves and a moment to collect themselves and reset emotionally and physically sometimes. Especially those who are normally used to putting everyone and everything before themselves. Kathy needed this and she made sure she had her time every day, no matter how busy she was, or how stressful everything around her may seem at the moment.
        She took ten minutes everyday for her time, to reflect and relax while also recollecting herself from a stressful sometimes tiring day. What did she do everyday? She left the kids in her study to do their homework and studying with the nanny, put the dogs outside on their leashes to have yard time while also avoiding bothering her, and put the most recent load of dishes in to start washing in order to have enough for dinner that night. She never let the house get messy since all that does is cause more stress and aggravation on an already busy mom. A timer for 10 minutes was always set on her phone to ensure she didn't use too much time for herself since other people needed her almost constantly. She exercised, everyday, for ten minutes, she went as hard as she possibly could. The routine may change each day but the overall action stays the same.
    Of all the things to do in the world, and with limited time to spare, why on earth would this be what she wanted to do with her time? She had her reasons. Her kids always wondered why she enjoyed it so much and the nanny always said, “Why oh why, do you work so hard all day long then turn to work yourself even more.” Her response was always around the same thing, “It's the break in my day, it's the time I get home and reset from work before having a night of chasing kids and making lunches.”
    She worked much harder on Mondays and weekends since she was not typically as stressed with work and focused on kids with school. She started with her half mile on the treadmill, this typically takes her around three minutes and 15 seconds depending on the day, sometimes she is able to get it down to three minutes flat. She still manages to have seven minutes left, basically the time had just began at this point. She lifts for five minutes, the strength from this one individual is so very mind blowing and no one would know it would be there if they did not know her personally.  With two minutes left she works on what she has been attempting to improve on for multiple weeks. Planking has always been a difficulty for her, she has difficulty remaining still for the long periods of time for it. When she started off this little daily tradition she was unable to stay up for even 20-30 seconds. Now weeks later she has it up to just about a minute with no issues and with commitment to completion. This allows for her to do it in two rounds hoping to allow her a small break while also pushing her to try it one more time for the day. Shes someone who was taught as a kid to never give up and always push to be better as a person.
        Time management is something held in high value in this household. No one runs late, no one misses classes or appointments. They all have places to be and respect that. What's one thing everyone does at home that they can not miss? Family dinner, it's the one time a night that everything else is put aside. This is a time that the mother and three children all gather and talk about their days and accomplishments.
         What happens when someone who counts on time so much and relies on those ten minutes for a reset period, loses that time one day and then each few days the time continues to disappear? This was her worst fear, not getting her alone time and not having those ten minutes and going through the whole entire day with build up stress and no way to change or relieve. It was a busy Tuesday morning and she woke up with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, like the kind you get when you know you have test you forgot to study for. Thursday was always her busiest day and caused her the most stress. She always packed it all in so that she could have an easy Friday and slowly and peacefully go into her weekend. But this one, she had no idea what was happening from the minute she opened her eyes at 5am. Two of the three kids were in her bed when she woke up with extremely high fevers and headaches. The nanny had already texted her three times that morning and left her two voicemails saying she was also sick and unable to come to the house today. She stopped and thought to herself, “This is it, this is the day that I do not have time to calm down and refocus, I can do this, I can make it.” She had to spend so much time in bed that morning convincing herself she could do it and it would all be back to normal tomorrow, but would it be? Time would tell.
         Now it is 7am and she has called into work and told them to send all of the important calls to her home office so that she does not far incredibly far behind. The kids had fallen back asleep and she kept all three of them home from school to avoid any more stress. She went downstairs and began trying to get as much work done as she could for the day until the kids needed her attention and help again. Right about now everyone might be thinking this mom is selfish and does not care that her kids are sick and need her help, that is not the case. She is a single mom and why she depends on time so much and values her ten minutes a day is because when her husband died it was the only thing that stayed the same. She still had her time and still counted on everything running on schedule. It was basically her way of grieving, it was her way of making everything okay.
    The day began to pass by and the minutes continued to tick on. As it progressed her stress continued to build and build and it hit her hard that she would have no time to cool down and recollect from this day. The kids needed her continuously and needed help just moving from the bed to the couch because they were so dizzy. She made them each a bowl of soup for lunch and then sat down for a minute while they ate to read a book. Time was passing more rapidly than normal. Out of the blue she broke down while she was sitting on the couch. The stress made her think about her husband and how if he was here than this would not be so hard and she would not feel so alone. These times barely came but when they did it was hard and challenging for her to overcome it since she had no one to talk it out with. This is why she depended on her time each day, to focus and reflect on her husband. Without it and when extra stress came she had nothing to do but try and calm down by thinking of him which in the end just makes her more upset overall.
          The time came, it was just around the time when she would set up the kids in her study to do their homework and she would head downstairs to begin her workout. But today this wouldn't be happening, she would not be doing this and she began to get upset all over again because of it. The kids were just calming down and settling in to watch a movie together. They all were very well aware of their moms time and how much she needed and deserved it. The oldest set up the other two on the couch and put on their favorite movie on. Once they were settled the mom was in the kitchen doing dishes and folding the laundry. The oldest, Sarah age 13, walked up to her and sat down with her for a minute. She began to speak, “Mom, I've got the kids for ten minutes, go have your time and if we need anything we can handle it for ten minutes. You need your time just as we all need you everyday. So do it for you and for us.” She started to cry as she looked at her daughter then she got up hugged her and said thank you and that she loved her. They both went their separate ways and watched the movie and worked out. After a day of so much stress and slight aggravation she still managed to have her time and to get what she needed to have a successful day. It was all she needed today, to have her kids feel better and to reset and refocus to finish off the day strong for herself, her husband, and her children. This family truly knew and understood the meaning of ten minutes and respected it to no end to allow their mom the time she needed to push through and be the strong, independent, single mom they needed.