Podcasting Saves My Sanity

How one Katy mom uses technology to “get away” for a while

As a stay-at-home mom, I like to be available to my children.  But there comes a point at which I need a mental break in order to keep going.  This has become especially true now that my oldest daughter has given up naptimes.  She still reads or plays quietly in her room, but silence in our house is a thing of the past.

I’ve found that podcasting can really save my sanity.  During “rest time”, I don’t want to hear every little bump that my daughter is making.  However, I don’t feel comfortable tuning her out by cranking up the tunes to drown her out completely.  My solution: Podcasting! 

There are endless options available for free via podcasts.  I prefer to download sermons from The Waters Church (my home church here in Katy) or from a church whose pastor I know from high school, The Village Church in Dallas.   I find that these sermons put me in a good frame of mind and help me drown out the little person noises that abound upstairs (but since it is just a person talking, it doesn’t get so loud that I wouldn’t be able to hear her if she really needed me).  I wasn’t sure how it would work at first: would I be able to stay focused and not get bored listening to a sermon?  Would I get anything done around the house?  I’ve found that cleaning is so much better when podcasting.  Housework is relatively mindless work, so I am still able to attend to the speaker while checking things off of my to-do list.  It took me a few tries before I found pastors that I enjoy listening to, but once I found the handful that keep my attention, I’m able to go back every week and get their latest sermon via podcast.

There are so many podcasts to choose from: almost every church has their sermons online, many famous authors have podcasts, and my husband’s favorite is How Things Work.  He says he podcasts them on the way to work and learns something new while sitting in traffic.

I use podcasting during naptime but I also use it on those days when I just don’t think I can listen to Old MacDonald Had A Farm anymore on car rides.  The girls still get to listen to their music, and I blissfully sneak away to a much calmer, rejuvenating place. 

How about you?  Do you podcast?  What is your favorite podcast?  Post a comment below!

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