The end of the school year is mocking me. I can hear summer coming, whistling and skipping closer to me while I shrink back into the shadows, covering my ears and pretending the days of “I’m bored” and endless interruption aren’t at hand.
As a mom, summer is a blessing. No more early morning ritual! Sleeping in (for them) and fewer chauffeur hours rocks. The downside is that as a work-at-home mom with a full-time workload (and getting bigger), I don’t get the quiet that I do when it’s just me and my dogs. 8:30 to 2:20 now becomes just numbers on the clock. Anxiety kicks in about this time because I get so accustomed to my daily grind that the slower pace and humanergy makes it harder for me to focus and get sh** done. Because that’s what it all boils down to.
Then again, I LOVE MY KIDS. GOD, THEY ARE GROWING UP FAST. I MUST TREASURE EVERY MOMENT!
Am I venting? A little, but there is a solution; one that was brought on when I realized it was a fantasy to get everyone together to do “family stuff.” It’s a concept we’ve been familiar with since childhood: taking turns.
Yes, I’m talking PATIENCE and waiting a bit. I’m also referring to taking turns with my loved ones. Besides going for sno cones, there isn’t much my kids (15 down to 8) agree on. I can sometimes get both boys to ride bikes with me. I can get my 13-year-old girl to go shopping or for pedis or a dance-related event. My hubby is always up for date night. My girlfriends go for wine and great conversation. My sisters crave sister time and so do I. I NO LONGER WAIT FOR A PERFECT TIME TO DO ANYTHING.
If there was, guess what? I’d still be waiting.
Instead, I SAY YES to one-on-one activities that mean something to my kids, my friends, my husband, my sisters. The gallery below is a sample from the last week. It was a busy, wonderful, soul-filled week. I also worked my butt off for my clients and my authors. I took turns. And as summer approaches, I have to remember to keep doing that – taking turns with the summer camps and dance classes and book signings and writing and design and branding AND some R&R. For me, work/life balance isn’t a balancing act at all, but about taking turns and trying to be fully present in whatever you’re doing and whomever you’re doing it with.
What about you? What are your plans this summer? Are you good at taking turns in your life? How do you do it?
On the book front, I’ll be sharing the covers for TWIN FALLS, my YA paranormal written under my pen name Lena Brown and my fifth women’s fiction novel, FAMILY CHARMS, in the next blog post so subscribe if you haven’t. If you’d like to be an early reader of EITHER book (summer releases), comment or message me on Facebook. xoM
EVENT ALERT: I’ll be signing books at Embassy Suites Norman Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. so come see me! I’ll have Something Wicked, Sleigh Ride, The Stork Reality, Something New and Dance Mom Survival Guide with me!
readyaimgrow.com 