I made the decision to shift to a position in my field that no longer required as much of me. I now have a great job that I enjoy (most of the time), but I am not where I imagined I would be career-wise by any means … Although this change worked wonders for my stress and seemed like a perfect solution, there have been many times over the last four years that I have wondered if I made the right choice. Am I fulfilling my purpose? Am I really making a difference? Am I doing enough?!? After all, I never really did get around to changing the world.
Tag: acceptance
Life is so much easier when you have a support system of people who understand your life experiences. And who aren’t afraid to say, “I’ve been there and it gets easier.”
The lives of today’s working moms are frenetic at best. Sometimes just saying no might help save our sanity…and our Pyrex.
The expectation versus the reality of having children is wildly different. Every stage is a challenge and nothing at all like you imagined. Above all, it’s harder than you ever expected. There are so many parts of motherhood that just plain suck, and it’s ok to hate them.
And, I realized in that moment, that although I probably will not always have the energy for some of his crazy ideas or the patience for his demanding that they come to fruition immediately, I do have to remember that they are his ideas … and that they are important to him. Sometimes, he is trying to speak to me—in his own creative voice—and it does not always sound like yours or mine.
It’s November 16th and I’ve got Christmas presents for my kids and my nieces and (soon-to-be nephew) wrapped and packed to go. I am so not that mom!
We should not have to defend ourselves to each other. We are free (and encouraged!) to make our own decisions, to be inadequately, incorrectly, or even overly informed.
But, as I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself, trying to think of a million excuses for my recent ball-dropping, it dawned on me that I would NEVER be as hard on any other mother as I am myself right now for any reason … I would never want my kids to feel the weight and pressure of trying to be perfect themselves. Mistakes are a part of learning, growing, and being better. And I need to be their model for how to do this.
Although there is so much on my plate to fill my time, there is something missing altogether. Love? No. Fun? No. Sleep? Nope, I am even getting that (most weeks). It’s quiet – I have no quiet in my life.
Suddenly, I could see a different future. One on my own with my daughter. I generated my own hope. I knew that I was on the right path.