March 1, 2009

BALANCE, SHMALANCE...

As I closed Baby-Ko's door, I glanced at the clock and the "how much time do I have until he wakes up from his nap" game began. My to-do list is never ending, yet not enough drip from Starbucks could cure my exhaustion. Take a nap or take a trip to the grocery store? Take a nap or write? Take a nap or put away laundry? Take a nap or spend time with my husband? It's always about trying to find the balance and choosing between me, someone, or something else. I remembered what Dr. Karen Hill-Scott, Early Childhood and Development Consultant for Baby Einstein had to say: THERE IS NO BALANCE.

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Last week, I had the privilege of attending a blogger summit hosted by Baby Einstein. They gathered several "mommy bloggers and writers" to see what the mommy world had to say about BE and share with us some new products. It was a really interesting event and I met some incredibly smart and talented women (which I plan on blogging about this week!).  When the topic of motherhood came up,  Dr. Hill-Scott, who I believe has 4 children and 8 grandchildren, shared what I thought was a beautiful analogy. She said she didn't believe in "balance." She said life is a freeway with 6 lanes... you just got to go and look over your shoulder as you change lanes.... There's no way to have it all- and unfortunately, (if you're a working mom) putting your husband first is totally unrealistic. Just go fast, go slow, change lanes and drive at a speed depending on what's going on... You're either in the fast lane or the slow lane but you can't drive in all lanes at once...

Obviously, Dr. Hill-Scott didn't just reinvent the wheel with her analogy but hearing it on a day  that I was dealing with what felt like 900 mini disasters (including a major plumbing issue due to me accidentally flushing the toilet paper holder down the toilet... don't ask), meant so much and resonated with me deeply....

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I ended up taking a nap, then writing a bit, then sitting with my husband for about 25 seconds before the baby woke up. I even got to see my best friend for dinner last night. The laundry never got put away, but there's always tonight... depending on how fast I drive home...

1 comment:

Colleen said...

That's so true that there is no ballance. Some days I feel like every thing I do revoles around my kids, but some days I feel really selfisih and feel like I'm not spending enough time with my kids. Most days I don't spend as much time as I want with my husband, but it's important to take that time whenever you can. If your spouse is the most important person to you, it will affect your whole family for the better.