This has obviously changed over time, and to be honest I think that the biggest shift in my "I don't give a damn I want to focus on what's best for me" attitude has come from starting a family. Maybe it stems from the fact that once you start growing a human inside of you, you really don't have a choice but to not care about much else in life because you are so exhausted and emotional that you go into a sort of survival mode. You find what works best to keep yourself happy and healthy, because you know that is what will keep that little life inside of you happy and healthy as well, and that seems to be all that matters anymore. I remember thinking, especially in my first trimester, do I get up earlier to do my hair and makeup before work to look good for other people? Heck no! I am sleeping until that very last second possible. Then after I had Ellie, do I worry about what people are going to think if they come to visit and my house is a mess? Pssshh no way, I have just about a million other things to focus on right now instead. Now I am not saying that these thoughts don't get the best of me every once in a while, nor am I saying that letting go and going completely in the other direction and really not giving a rat's ass about anything in your life anymore is a healthier option, but just that I have found that the less time I spend focusing on and worrying about what other people might think about me or the things I do, the more fun I tend to have. Also that having a baby just kind of forces you into this mindset sometimes, which isn't always a bad thing.
Ellie's favorite activity to pass the time these days seems to be music and dancing. She just can't get enough of it. She will gather a few of my scarves that I had brought downstairs one time to add a little interest to our dance parties (I highly recommend trying this if you haven't, Ellie goes crazy for it) and walk over to our TV cabinet where the stereo is kept. She will point at it while looking longingly at me saying "music, music music?" I typically plug my phone in and play Pandora, but the radio will do the trick sometimes too. We then spend the next half hour or so dancing around the living room twirling scarves without a care in the world, and I absolutely love it. In the past I probably would never have participated in something like this (with someone else around at least) but there is just something about a toddler's nonjudgmental, idolizing little personality that will make you do just about anything. I'm sure it looks a little crazy to the neighbors walking by, but I really don't care. We have fun with it and that is what matters.
Ellie's favorite songs right now are Timber by Pitbull and Royals by Lorde, but she will dance to just about anything :) Another plus about dancing around in your living room like a crazy person is that it is one heck of a workout. I don't know how Ellie does it but I am always out of breath while she appears as if she could go for days!
