If there is one thing that being a military spouse has taught me, it has been self preservation. It took almost 17 years. But now, I know what my limits are.
We are in the middle of a move. A move, in which my DH will be leaving sooner than the rest of the family. This means, packing, single parenting, painting, and trying to sell a home alone. I am OK with these tasks. It is part of the "Sisterhood", isn't it? However, I have decided to throw in the towel in some of my volunteer efforts.
This may seem easy, but I can honestly say it hurt my ego a bit to verbalize "I just do not think I have the time, to help". I typically volunteer about 3 hours on Sunday nights at the children's AWANA club. 3 hours is a lot of time for me to give. Especially with the move.
I seriously had to sit and justify "NO", for weeks. So last night, I told the head of the AWANA club, that I just do not think I have it in me right now.
Saying no is hard for some of us, but I promise the old saying "If Momma ain't happy, no one is happy", rings true in my house. So I had to say no. Despite my feelings that it is a selfish proclamation.
I woke this morning, feeling a little guilty, but relieved that others were so understanding.
I was wondering how many of us feel guilty saying "no", and how many of us struggle with finding that delicate balance between serving others and ourselves.
