By Silvia Corradin
From: Special Mommy Chronicles (Unpublished Column from September 7, 2006)
Living day by day with a child that needs so much attention and care, can leave us feeling drained and depressed. I’ve always heard from everyone that moms should take time out for themselves, but sometimes that is too daunting of a task to even imagine. What is that we can do to make us happy? What can we do that won’t be hard to manage, like finding a baby-sitter or taking a lot of time out our day when we don’t have much to spare?
Ever since my son was born that has been exactly my struggle: to find some distraction, something I can do that would make me happy without needing to go to some extraordinary length to be able to do it. Clearly for me, it had to be something I could do from home.
My mom, bless her heart, found something that made her happy despite being stuck at home with three daughters: she became an Astrologer. She took some courses, buried herself in books, and truly found something she loved to do. She even made money doing it, as she would advertise her business and invite people to come over and get their Birth Chart done by her. I know many people roll their eyes at this, but she was so good at it, and it gave her life some purpose. She is going to be 70 years old in January and she still does it, she sends me my yearly horoscope with the predictions for the upcoming year and she is RARELY wrong!!! When she meets someone she immediately guesses their astrological sign and she is right on the money 99% of the time! She is amazing. Aside her love for Astrology she has a passion for poems, she wrote hundreds, one more beautiful than the other. I am hoping to get her book published someday. If it was in English it would have already been done, but since it’s in Italian and I live in the US, that’s going to be more of a challenge.
My guilty pleasure? Writing, of course, has always been something I loved to do, but graphic work is now a close second. I love working on websites and connect with people I would otherwise never get a chance to meet. I often joke with my husband that some of my best friends that I speak with live in other countries!
It may take a while to find something you like to do that you can do from home, but the rewards are priceless. You won’t feel drained, you won’t feel depressed, and it’s better than pills!
Mom to 3 boys, 1 in heaven, 2 on earth. My first son Alex (whose demise is most likely EB related) was stillborn at full term. After a miscarriage, I had my second son Nicky, who has the Recessive Dystrophic form of Epidermolysis Bullosa. My youngest son, Connor, is 100% healthy, and I never, ever take it for granted. I am an author, photographer, graphic artist, webmaster, blogger and more.
