Is it me, or does time just seem to slip by, and there never seems to be time to get it all done?
Everyday, there’s a long list of things to complete: work, dinner, exercise, and of course taking care of your children, pets, etc. – taking care of kids and pets are a given, so they don’t need to go onto any kind of to-do list. But, taking care of them certainly does require time.
How do you get it all done? How does anyone? So many days it feels like hopping from one thing to the next, and before you know it, the King of Queens, or Golden Girls, or whatever show is on and you’re drifting off to sleep (btw, it’s always King of Queens in our house).
I’d like to think that most days, I’m pretty good at fitting everything in, but I often think that I should be doing something else, or something more. I definitely have mom guilt when my daughter knocks on my office door to see if I’m done for the day. And then when I am, we usually have to do something other than play – walk the dog, make dinner, etc.
It’s weird to think how things are still so busy, even in the days of mostly staying at home because of the ongoing pandemic. Still, somehow they are. Because things are *somewhat* normal, we’re now back on the schedule for kids’ classes, pet events, and the periodic small social event (seeing a close friend), and it seems more busy.
There doesn’t seem to be an answer for this. Just trying to be “present” in whatever part of the day it is seems to be the best we can do. It’s hard to let that guilt go, or that nagging feeling that you still have a few items left on the checklist that haven’t been completed.
I know that everyday is a new chance for me to learn how to avoid the guilt and the drive to get more done… but man, it’s hard to do! I think I’m getting a little better at it, but it’s definitely a process.
It’s also hard when there are so many things to be excited about – a new playset my daughter wants to use, or a new opportunity for Speaking Of (woot woot!), and training to do with the dog (that is really fun – especially because our dog seems so excited when she gets it right!).
I guess I just have to forget the idea of perfect balance. Some days, I’m in the office more. Some days, I am hanging out with my daughter for a while and we order dinner instead of make it (I’m working on this too, haha, you may have read my other post about dinner). It’s all okay.
