When you become a mom, you are faced with many choices. For many, one of the most difficult is whether or not you will work outside the home. Sometimes the circumstances in your life decide this choice for you. When my daughter was born, I did not have the option of staying home with her full time; my husband was in school, and I had to return to work so we could pay our bills. Sometimes I look back and wish I could have had more time with her in those early months, but when I see how happy she is at daycare, it makes me happy. And when it comes time to start kindergarten, I am confident she will have no trouble adjusting, and will be excited to go.
Being happy in life is all about finding balance. Doubly so when you are a mom. Things have been very hectic this summer, and I'm realizing that my balancing act needs some work. Between my full-time job and being a mom, not to mention my entrepreneurial adventures, it has been increasingly difficult to squeeze everything in. My stress levels have been rising, and I don't want to be that mom that is always stressed out and overwhelmed. There's a saying - if mom's not happy, no one's happy - and it is so true! I know that the days when I'm feeling particularly stressed are the days when my daughter is also cranky. Negativity breeds negativity. So what can I do to remedy this situation?
My biggest obstacle in life right now is time. And while I would love to quit my full time job and have my daughter go to preschool/daycare part time (so I could both have more time with her and time to focus on Modern Handmade Child and The Clever Kitty), that's simply not an option right now. However, working full time and trying to keep up with these things while caring for my daughter in the evenings and weekends isn't really working either. I know that trying to squeeze everything in it takes away from the quality of time I have with her. And that makes me sad. So for me, for the time being, I've decided that the best thing I can do for myself and my family is to spend one day a week at home (by myself!) to work on my stuff, so that when I do have time with my daughter in the evenings and on the weekends, I can have quality time with her, as I won't be trying to cram all this other stuff in too.
We can try all we want to be that supermom, but when it comes down to it, all we can really do is do the best we can with what we have at any given time. And what's best for one mom may not be the best for another mom. Each mom is unique, and we all must decide for ourselves what is best for us and our children. Sometimes, because of certain circumstances in our lives, the choice we'd most like to make simply isn't possible. In which case we are forced to choose the next best thing. But you know what? Sometimes what we think is the next best thing, actually turns out to be the best thing. ♥
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