The Beginning of Betterment

I sat in my living room staring at the computer screen. It wasn't doing anything; I wasn't chatting with anyone; nothing new was going on. And yet, there I was, just sitting there. My kids were asleep for their afternoon nap, and I felt as though I had earned some well-deserved down time. And for the moment, that meant doing  nothing. Literally, nothing.

Suddenly, I snapped out of my computer-screen-glow-induced brain deadness and realized how foolish I was being. Sure, every stay at home mom deserves a few minutes of relaxed breathing. But is it really necessary to turn your brain to mush for an hour or two? Is that really the only way to grab some "me time?" I decided to look at my definition of "me time" and discovered it was very flawed. How about instead of vegging out during nap time, I spend that time learning something new. For me. Something I was interested in. Or maybe trying something new? Just for me. To better me, not just as a mom, wife and friend (although that should be our aim in 99.9% of what we do, but that's another post...) but for ME.

When I turned from a college aged kid into an adult, I realized I needed to "rediscover" who I was. Not some mystical, journey-filled experience that requires tons of time, cash and patience from those you love you. Not that that's always bad. But that's not at all what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about rediscovering how who you are fits into your current, evolving life. How your loves, areas of expertise and interests fit in to what kind of person you are becoming. How you can be a better spouse, friend, church member, neighbor. A better you. And how by bettering yourself, you can better your family, community, marriage, church and friend circle.

I also learned that there are many areas of life out there that I had not the faintest idea how to even carry on an intelligent conversation about. I wanted to change that. I wanted to broaden my horizons, expand my mind and become a better me. And I did't want to do it alone. So I'm bringing some friends along with me for the journey. We'll learn about basic economics, music, parenting, community living, politics, life experiences, food, charity work and hopefully many more things. Come along with us and be part of our Betterment Project!