The months that come around for all working Moms, months we feel like we are losing the grip on the thousands of juggling balls in the air. The months where we feel completely overwhelmed.
Yes, I'm having that kind of month. The months where you are so busy that you can’t even count anymore how many times you have had to eat girl scout cookies from your desk for breakfast (Sidenote: Lemonades are my favorite “breakfast” cookie). The months where you wake up in the middle of the night certain you missed something, but you can’t think of what it is and then it keeps you up wondering if it was something important.
For me, these months happen when my two worlds, work and personal, collide. We’ve all seen those moms that can keep their two worlds completely apart, their work life and personal life walk side by side without touching or converging. Well, my lives are not like that. My two lives push and shove and line jump all the time. They simply cannot co-exist side by side peacefully for very long.
It never fails in my life...the busiest weeks at work always seem to be the weeks when my husband has to work overtime and so I’m here in my office kids in tow working on jury instructions. The activity that my kids beg to do always seem to fall on an off time. For example, tonight we start t-ball which they scheduled at 5:00. I hate the person who invented start times at 5:00 p.m. Even if you leave work early (which you must to catch this activity), you don’t have time to feed the kids and therefore you are juggling hungry kids, in your suit, and trying to watch the one actually participating in the activity!
Lately, my personal life has been trying to butt in a little too much on my work life. Last week was one of those weeks where my personal life completely line jumped and began to try and shove my work life out of the way.
Monday, I left work ½ a day early to attend a family wake in Chicago. Tuesday, I left work ½ a day early because of the kids valentine’s parties, Wednesday I actually kept the personal life in check long enough to get a well needed day at my desk. But Thursday, my personal life was back to strike again with a doctor’s appointment for L. Friday, I performed two jobs…half attorney and half girl scout cookie saleswoman!
Then my weekend came and it was just worse. Between basketball, little league sign up, cookie booth sales, gymnastics, kids night out, grocery shopping, church, cleaning the house, laundry…I honestly was more exhausted after the weekend than all week.
My “line jumping” lives go in waves…sometimes they are civil and can work together fine. Other times, well not so much. But I can’t help but be afraid that things are only going to get worse. I used to think that my work life would get more “time in the spotlight” once the kids weren’t babies anymore. Wrong! Once they are kids that just means they are involved in more activities. Before I just had to cart J around town to different activities…now she’s headed to Acro ½ hour before H has to be down town at t-ball.
So my job is simple…I’m basically a line referee in my own life. I'm involved in the never ending quest to keep my work life and personal life separate and co-existing peacefully so that I don’t turn gray by age 34 (which by the way I'm having my hair colored next week just in case I'm already there)! Wish me luck!
Mandi
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