The gathering was just one part of that day's Take Five Camp. Take Five is a summer camp for Moms. Instead of swimming and campfires, they have cooking demonstrations, yoga lessons, and wine-tastings.
No kids are allowed. And the Moms say the camp is a great antidote to the stress they feel building throughout the school year -- as they drive carpools, make lunches, go to doctor's appointments, school conferences, and the like.
Tracy Ginsburg of Gladwyne, Pa., describes the stress this way, "You know when you're hair's frazzled and your brain is like mush and you are on your last nerve. You can't wait for your kids to go do something this summer and go away and for you to do something for yourself."
Fellow camper Anne Stein of Gladwyne, Pa., says she knows her stress level is building when she, "Can't get up in the morning, very frustrated and I'm very short-tempered. You flip out at your kids when you don't really mean to."
While some people might view these moms as selfish for taking a day away from their children, Therapist Ruthy Kaiser of the Council for Relationships, says in the long-run, "Me-Time" can make moms better parents.
She likens it to the airplane warning to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.
"If you lose oxygen in your own brain, you're going to become confused and you're not going to be any good to anyone around you and it's really the same thing in a relationship with children," Kaiser says. "As a parent, as an individual, as a mom or a dad, we have to attend to ourselves for our own sake, for own well-being, and so as to be a better, more compassionate, less stressed, more effective parent."
Kaiser says all parents should try to find "Me" time to de-stress. Mom camp costs more than $100 a day. But as long as you find something relaxing, you don't have to spend money.
She suggests exercise, yoga or meditatation, journal-writing, a book club, or just
watching a grown-up movie on the couch with your spouse.
"I was working with a woman yesterday who, unfortunately, due to the structure of her life, the only place she can be alone is in the bathroom." Kaser says.
"I said, 'Well go to the bathroom. Put a Do Not Disturb sign on, set your timer, or give them a timer, that you'll be out in 20 minutes,' and that's what she does."
The important thing is to take time to do something that you find relaxing.
"Not only does it diminish or decrease their stress, making them a more pleasant parent," Kaiser says. "It's also a great lesson to model for our children that self-care is important."
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