GMarie,
been there done that… I so know how you feel! When my ex left me with our 3 children and I worked at an aftercare program…I literally went weeks without adult conversation devoid of child care talk. I never went out because I couldn’t afford a babysitter, it was seriously over 2 years of 24/7 with kids. I had no family nearby to help me out and when I did go see my family, my mom suggested I go out without the kids…finally I thought! Then she said be back in 2 hours…2 HOURS!!! 2 years of no time to myself and mom thought I should go out for 2 hours! But, thankfully it does get better. The things I would do differently are making time for myself and it is ok to need that time. I wish I figured it out sooner. My first taste of time alone was sending the kids off to PSR and I spent that 1 hour a week in a perfectly empty church…it was the best thing I could have done! Oh how happy I was! Eventually I started working with adults, my kids got big enough that I could do grocery shopping by myself, occassionally go to Walmart for an hour alone…etc. I sure wish I had internet and a computer back then!
Take care of yourself…get some adult time, you will be a much better mom because of it. I will pray that you have a good support system around you and that you continue to be able to come to CA and destress. God Bless you and all in the same boat.