Domestic duties
What they don't tell you in Parenting 101
STOPPING TO LET NEW IDEAS SETTLE
March 22, 2012
ARE we
bloggers tuned to think the same things at the same time, or is just because you’re thinking about it, you tend to mentally bookmark the posts that resonate with some inner dialogue?
This week
Suse, of Pea Soup; Bron, of Maxabella Loves; and, Leonie, of Cuppa and Cake, all
posted about work/life balance. No moaning or groaning, just their reflections
on the subject of being, or, in Bron's case, no longer being, a working mum.
I'm a
working parent but, hell, let me say there are some days I just wish I wasn't.
I mean, don’t we all? And I don't mean just the working part, Lord knows there
are some days I could happily ditch the parent bit.
I'd go as far as saying it's crossed my mind the couple thing may have
worn a bit thin too.
Long story
short, I applied the brakes and unplugged myself from the family routine this week to
house sit for a friend. And, honestly, I am a danger to myself sometimes
because the minute I said I'd do it, I almost rang my very generous friend back
– a woman willing to give me the run of her house – to withdraw. I instantly
felt guilty and selfish about being absent from my family and started dragging out calendars with appointments
and dates of things I had to do and wondered how I'd make it all work.
With the
help of my partner it has kind of worked and even where it hasn't, it's cleared a little head space to think about how I live my life as me, as a working woman, as a parent and
a partner. Oh, and Amy's post on Sweet, Sweet Life helped get things in perspective
too.
I imagine there
are times you're looking for answers or new ideas and if you're open to them,
the right ones seem to settle on you. Or
maybe it's that you settle on them. I'm not sure. Either way, with a little time away and a few bloggy pearls of wisdom, I feel lighter and things brighter.
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