Mommy Moments
Downtime Abbey
By Melanie Lewis
WELCOME summer vacation! Everyone can use a little downtime. Plan a relaxing and replenishing retreat for yourself or the entire family. Here are some of my recommendations.
You could take a page out of the book of the PBS TV series and visit the American equivalent, The Flagler Museum. When it was completed in 1902, the New York Herald proclaimed that Whitehall, Henry Flagler’s Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was “more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world.” Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, featuring guided tours, changing exhibits, and special programs. While in the area, see The Breakers. The Villa Medici in Rome is the inspiration for the hotel’s facade. Walk in the same halls as the Vanderbilts and the Astors. Tours available on Saturdays for a small fee. Another step back in time, but still available to those wishing to splurge like a Housewife of West Palm Beach wealth and eccentricity. Go ahead and live it up with an overnight stay.
If that seems like more running around, then go for the ‘stay-cation’. Trips to the library for a stack of books, movies and music will keep the crew entertained. Reading, or D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read) time is what they call it in school. When desperate for some quiet, yell out, “DEAR” time. The first one sitting reading wins first choice for dessert.
Add a cookbook to that pile of library finds. Have the kids participate in meal planning and preparation. They have to eat, so why not get them involved as much as possible? A trip to the local farmers’ market may be in order. Find new uses for tomatoes and beans.
To prevent unnecessary Downtime drama, make sure to preserve an hour everyday after lunch or mid afternoon for pure quiet. No computers, no toys or games, just an hour of stillness: contemplation, meditation, prayer.
And most importantly, find a moment for yourself. Moms need a break. I recently went to visit a friend two hours away. I felt guilty leaving floors unmopped and the lawn growing sky-high. I can tell you the next day on my way home, I wasn’t thinking of any of it.
Give yourself a pause from a harried life and create your own Downtime Abbey.
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Melanie Lewis is the mother of 2 active young boys. She is married and works part-time as a Silpada representative and a weight loss consultant. She enjoys book club, and playing with her Blue-mitted Ragdoll, Percy and Golden Retriever, Rosie. She can be reached at – [email protected].
www.mysilpada.com/Melanie.Lewis
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