Last weekend I made a spur of the moment decision to visit my sister in New York City.

I spent a month coming up with reasons not to go.

Too busy Too tired Too hard to find people to watch the kids. I should spend the money on carpet, a new bed, school clothes for the kids, blah, blah, blah. You know the list excuses. Moms are awesome at them.

A few years ago I couldn’t give myself permission to even take a BATH. Motherhood has shaped me, and has been my defining role in life, but when I look back at my old self, I was lost, and I didn’t even really have the energy to care. I am sure there was anxiety and some depression wrapped up in many of those behaviors, but I had no idea how to separate my needs from my children’s needs and not feel some degree of self loathing. I never engaged in Mommy Wars, that has always been and continues to be such a joke to me. I was jealous of the Moms who were balanced and felt healthy enough to leave their children.

Menial part time jobs were my way of getting a break without the guilt. But then came Norwex, which started as a hobby, then morphed into a part time job, which evolved into a career.  For the last 5 years, Norwex given me the practice I needed to figure out who and what I wanted to be outside of Motherhood.

So thanks to Norwex, I have taught how to give myself a break. I can fly solo and navigate myself without feeling overwhelmed! I can let myself have fun and spend money on myself and actually enjoy it. Taking time away from my kids after a whole Summer together wasn’t a luxury. (It kept my children alive the last few days of Summer break.)

Oh and also thanks to Norwex for the new deodorant we just rolled out! I remained stink-free in NYC, although in August, I doubt anyone would have really noticed either way. Man, that city. So many smells!