Back-to-You

By Amy Crelly

With the kids back in school, moms’ schedules get even more hectic in the fall. If you’re looking for a way to carve out some time for yourself (and I highly recommend you do), why not go back-to-school yourself, or at least take a class? I'm not suggesting calculus or 18th Century Dead White Dudes 101 (unless that's what you're into). I mean a fun class. For one, there’s something magical about the phrase, “I have class tonight.” So wholesome-sounding, so utterly unassailable, it has the power to stop spouses’ complaints about having to watch the kids (or at least stun them long enough for you to reach the door).

Just choose something you’ll really enjoy, check your budget (or not), pick a time commitment (I recommend at least an hour, once a week), and take a pen to the Calendar: Mom has class!

Pick Your Passion
There are a million types of classes you can take, from fitness classes that come free with your gym membership to community college courses that challenge you to rediscover your brilliant, brainy self to courses in Meditation (or Wine-Tasting 101).

My Tuesday evenings are now devoted to Hip Hop Dance class with friends. When 7 o’clock rolls around, after work is done and the kids are fed, we all drop whatever we’re doing and meet up at the studio to practice body-rolling and booty-shaking. The hour mostly consists of us laughing hysterically at our own awkward imitations of B-girl moves, but that’s the point as far as we’re concerned!

And when we return home afterward, happy and refreshed, our families are so grateful we took that time to rejuvenate ourselves. To the untrained eye, their gratitude might look like mockery (what with the laughing and pointing as we share what we just learned), but deep down I know what they’re really thinking: I want to be a Lifelong Learner too!