February 9, 2018

Balance

I was thinking the other day how, at times, I can be super lazy, well that's a bit harsh maybe, but give me a choice between getting shit done, or reading my favourite magazine with cake and tea, you can guess what I'd choose.

But things need to be done, the house has to be run, the kids kept fed, watered and dressed and driven to the right place on time, so I've been trying to find that balance, and I feel pretty good about it at the moment.

Because I'm working part time, in a fabulous job that I love, I'm really trying to make the most of my home time... organisation is the key people! I usually tend to the daily grind in the mornings, ie washing, cleaning, cooking, sorting, paying bills and getting organised so I can enjoy the afternoons doing something I love.

When I'm home alone, I really enjoy the silence, to be honest, but when The Hubbster and kids come home, it's usually chaotic, noisy and crazy, and everyone talks at the same time and my head spins, but that is what a family is about, so I am embracing these times because as the years go on, the dynamics of our family will shift.

In fact, I try to think of what life was like BK (Before Kids) and I really can't remember what it was like to be responsible for just me.  To have the freedom to make choices and take risks, perhaps, with no consequence to anyone else but myself. I travelled alone because I could, and at times worked full time AND part time because I didn't have a house full of kids to come home to and look after.

But during these times, there was always that longing, in the back of my mind, that I needed to, and wanted to get married and have a family, it was almost like a calling and as many of my friends during my 20's married and started their families, I really wondered if it would ever happen to me.

Well it did.  I was a late starter, getting married at 32, and having my babies at 33, 35 and 37. And so it began, the period known as AF (After Kids or All Crazy) because at times that's how it is! This has truly been the most important, happy, frustrating but joyous time of my life. From being a new mother with a newborn, a 2 year old and a 4 year old, to now, having the three of them in high school.

It has been a challenge, because as much as I think I'm doing a great job of being a mum, there have been times where I think I've failed miserably.   I can be really hard on myself, but after talking with other mothers, I don't think I'm alone. Whether it be issues about money, lack of time, responsibility or just the day to day slog we all go through, being a mother/parent is hard work.

But rewarding.  Oh so cliche, but so true.

So here I am, in the middle of the busiest time of mine, and my children's lives, trying to find that balance, enjoying the moment as it is fleeting, and trying to do a good job of raising these country kids  I still have goals but at the moment they are dreams for the next chapter which will come all too soon.

How do YOU have balance in your life?

Farmers Wifey xo

2 comments:

River said...

Balance is irrelevant for me now that I'm retired and the kids are grown and long gone from home. But when they were all small, my balance was similar to yours. Get the big jobs done in the mornings, downtime for myself while they were napping or in school, then another burst of energetic work after they arrived home and the dinner/homework/dishwashing routine took place. I managed mostly by having that routine set in stone with very little deviation in their early years, but room for flexibility as they got older.

Farmers Wifey said...

I like the sound of that, your past routine sounds like mine!

Get the big things done in the morning so there is "me" time before they come home from school! xo