What do I mean when I use the term “Burnout”?

I love and respect my Mom very much, and I could tell she really didn’t like my use of the word burnout in my post from Sunday.  So, since then I’ve been trying to think if there was a better word I could use for what I am feeling.

I looked it up in the dictionary via Google and here are the first two definitions:

burn·out

I have run and run and run my little engine and I have not made sure I was giving myself enough fuel for the tasks.  It doesn’t mean I couldn’t…it means I didn’t.

Isn’t that a Mom thing? We are giving to our kids, to our hubby and forgetting to take care of ourselves!  I can’t even begin to count the many times I have prepared a meal for my children and then walked away never even thinking about the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything myself.

When we fly, what does the flight attendant tell us to do in the case of loss of cabin pressure?  We are to adjust our own masks before helping others around us (that would be our family).  The unsaid message is that if you don’t take care of your mask first, you will not be in a position to help anyone.

Before school starts again next August, I need to come up with a plan that allows me to take in the fuel I need so my engine can go, go, go as I help my family.   I need to look at what I do and decide what feeds me and what drains me.  And, I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing conversation I am having with myself!