I finally took a break. In an effort to avoid a break down, my husband took the boys to Texas to stay with my mom. For the 1st time in 9 years, I was without husband, kids and responsibility.

I’ve never been so happy to be alone in my

life! Five glorious days of freedom—Free to do as I please when I wanted. I was giddy to say the least and had my owe to do list:

1. Read

2. Sleep

3. Exercise

4. Pamper myself

My Personal Book Club. I dove into books by my new favorite Southern writers, Willie Morris and Ellen Gilchrist (introduced to me by my Mississippi friend, Alyce). Reading is a luxury I (and most moms) don’t take advantage of enough. And if I do get a chance to read, it is always a business book (my last book was Seth Godin’s All Marketers are Liars). Heaven.

Beauty rest. One of the things I hate about owning your own business, is you stop sleeping through the night. Then with young kids, you wake up painfully early. So, I went to bed early and SLEPT through every night. Success!

Exercise Part 1. This was the hardest one. I haven’t broken a sweat in YEARS…so I started slowly. I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. After that I felt energized and ready for more. I signed up for a beginning Pilates class that's when things went wrong.

Part 2. I walked into my old dance studio and…WOW. How young everyone looked! And fit!. And cute--( in their understated-I-am-young-hip yoga outfits!) My sweat pants and tank top paled in comparison. Stepping into the class, I was surrounded by mirrors that really confirmed my age and body image (I wished I could wear a t-shirt announcing, “Hey! I AM a 41 year old mom of 3 who has NO time to exercise.”).

Part 3. I closed my eyes, breathed deep and prayed I could lift my legs. Sadly enough, during the first five minutes of the WARM UP, I managed to pull a muscle in the back of my arm. Pain shooting through my body, I freaked out. How did I get here? I managed to make it through the rest of the class with determination. I WILL GET in shape!

Pampered and Happy. Basking in my new, found freedom, I did allow myself to get a Spa Pedicure with my friend, Allison. As I sat in a high tech massage chair, someone glopped and massaged green seaweed creams into my (now sore) legs. I put a bright red nail polish so bright that even my 40 year old eyes could see them shinning below.

I had a blast and can’t wait for next year’s Spring break...In fact, I encourage you to come along with me!