The Writing Mamas Daily Blog
Each day on the Writing Mamas Daily Blog, a different member will write about mothering.If you're a mom then you've said these words, you've made these observations and you've lived these situations - 24/7.
And for that, you are a goddess.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Swimming Upstream
I want to scream!
My husband and I went back East with our two-year-old for the New Year holiday. We returned refreshed, inspired and motivated. This would be the year we break from our routine and create more time for family and travel!
Yet, here we are at the end of January and neither of us had done anything toward our goals.
Two weeks earlier, in the twenty minutes we had before our son would wake from his nap, we whipped up a plan and gave each other assignments.
“Great,” my husband said, as our son started to cry. “When do we want to meet next?”
My mind Rolodexed through the days and weeks ahead, and my jaw sort of dropped. There wasn’t any reliable time for us to “meet.” Our son’s weekend nap time was not reliable.
It dawned on me then that if we couldn’t find time to sit and talk (when we weren’t both dead tired), then how were we going to find the additional time we needed to actually do our plan, and change our lives?
Our lives were already so full. We had commutes to and from daycare and work, physical therapy, phone calls, e-mails, clients, doctor’s appointments, house work, groceries, bath time, dinners, and on and on.
What comes to mind is a saying from Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.”
I felt like we were in a Catch-22: in order to break from our routine, we first had to break from our routine.
I understand why some people choose not to push their boundaries or create dramatic change. It’s like salmon swimming upstream: it requires tremendous energy, focus and work to go against the natural flow of our lives.
But my husband and I are determined.
In the end, we decided to meet at five a.m. one morning a week, and otherwise find time wherever we could. We anticipate that we’ll have to let some things go (like dishes, or sleep), and I’ll have to accept that things will probably take longer than expected -- which, as a mom, I should already know!
But all is good, as long as we keep swimming.
By Cindy Bailey
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My husband and I went back East with our two-year-old for the New Year holiday. We returned refreshed, inspired and motivated. This would be the year we break from our routine and create more time for family and travel!
Yet, here we are at the end of January and neither of us had done anything toward our goals.
Two weeks earlier, in the twenty minutes we had before our son would wake from his nap, we whipped up a plan and gave each other assignments.
“Great,” my husband said, as our son started to cry. “When do we want to meet next?”
My mind Rolodexed through the days and weeks ahead, and my jaw sort of dropped. There wasn’t any reliable time for us to “meet.” Our son’s weekend nap time was not reliable.
It dawned on me then that if we couldn’t find time to sit and talk (when we weren’t both dead tired), then how were we going to find the additional time we needed to actually do our plan, and change our lives?
Our lives were already so full. We had commutes to and from daycare and work, physical therapy, phone calls, e-mails, clients, doctor’s appointments, house work, groceries, bath time, dinners, and on and on.
What comes to mind is a saying from Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.”
I felt like we were in a Catch-22: in order to break from our routine, we first had to break from our routine.
I understand why some people choose not to push their boundaries or create dramatic change. It’s like salmon swimming upstream: it requires tremendous energy, focus and work to go against the natural flow of our lives.
But my husband and I are determined.
In the end, we decided to meet at five a.m. one morning a week, and otherwise find time wherever we could. We anticipate that we’ll have to let some things go (like dishes, or sleep), and I’ll have to accept that things will probably take longer than expected -- which, as a mom, I should already know!
But all is good, as long as we keep swimming.
By Cindy Bailey
Labels: Cindy Bailey
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