So the first time I had this epiphany was back in 2007, when I came down with mono at age 37. Following that lovely 6-week illness was post-viral syndrome. (My body, unaware that the mono virus was gone, continued to fight it. Which made me feel even worse than the mono ever did.) That lasted nearly a year.
When I finally felt good again, I bounced into 2008, vowing to catch up and do everything I’d missed out on. I started going to Zumba classes. Hubs and I tackled more challenging hikes at Big Bend National Park. My friends and I started Little Rock Mamas. I wrote a weekly column for the newspaper.
In 2010, I decided to become a Girl Scout troop leader.
In 2011, I joined the Girl Scouts North Hills Service Unit, which plans events for 30-plus troops in our area. In that role, I also ventured into public relations.
And I’ve had a blast!
Then, in December, I injured my shoulder. In January, I had surgery, a Bankart repair. And life has now come to a standstill.
I can’t go to Zumba. Instead, I go to physical therapy. It takes me forever to get ready in the morning. I can’t use my left arm much at all and still have to wear a sling. I’m left-handed by the way.
And so in recent weeks, I’ve found myself parked on the couch, even on the weekends.
Normally, I’m a really fun weekend mom. I take the kids all over the place. Now I’ve been declared, “Boring Mama.”
But my stress level? Wow. It’s dropped. Even though February is usually a crazy month for me due to the kids birthdays and Girl Scout Cookie Season.
The problem is, it’s dropped so much that I find myself bored and depressed.
Somewhere, there’s a happy medium. And now that I’ve spent time on both sides of that fine line, I’m even more unsure as to how to find that balance exactly. My husband works a weird schedule that changes each month. Much of the time, he’s working on weekends.
I’m happy when I’m busy. At the same time, it’s been so nice to just … let go … this past 3 1/2 weeks.
I’m interested in hearing how other working moms juggle everything. And by that, I mean not just getting everything done, but how to savor and enjoy life at the same time.
Dancing. I need to do more of that.
Like a renegade... 
I was just thinking this morning that the weeks lately have been zooming by, followed by weekends filled with chores/kid fighting/exhaustion, then it plays out all over again. But I think that’s partly because of the age of my kids. Or I hope so, anyway … soon it won’t take us 2.5 hours just to get through the grocery store on a weekend and we can do something fun with that time instead!
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Oh I hear ya. I’ve been trying to find that work-life balance since Alaina was born and even more so since my diagnosis. I guess one good thing has come from my MS — I have been FORCED to slow down and take better care of myself. That has enabled me to carefully CHOOSE what activities I’m going to take part in at night after work and on the weekend. I’ve learned that if I say “Yes!” to everything, ultimately it will catch up with me and I’ll be spending the weekend in bed — not the way I want to spend my weekends! 🙂
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I try to do one fun thing a weekend (usually Kahlan-centered) or accomplish one errand. And I realize that the world will carry on just fine if it doesn’t get done. But I couldn’t imagine doing much being partly immobilized. Good thoughts your way!
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