Today I'm taking a few minutes to look at my week thus-far, and also thought I'd mention that last week's vacation ended up including a number of things on my list! I unexpectedly caught the travel planning spark and began
fanning dreams into flame. After a week of reading Rick Steves'
books, Jay and I have a fairly good handle of the basic framework of
our summer trip. No reservations made yet, but getting close. So
excited!
Squee!!
I also got the hallway portrait project
basically done, so that feels super. (And yes, I found some time
for cartoons.)
Now that we are getting back into the
swing of things with Jay and G back at school, I am putting more
deliberate concentration into my career. The stay-at-home-mom
career, that is. Or, as my parents deemed it back in the day, my domestic
engineering career. I'm sure this is true of many people, but I have
a lot of insecurities about my current vocation. Is it worthwhile?
Is it valid? Am I just a freeloader, doing loads of laundry on the
side? Am I a failure for not having an income or making a big splash
in the business world? Am I lazy?
In light of these questions, there are
three things I started on Monday. The first is to make sure that I
am using my time wisely and not turning a blind eye to household
tasks that need doing. (This includes a commitment to cooking a healthy dinner each night...something that went by the wayside during trial and vacation time.) The second is to make a conscious effort to
spend non-distracted time with Z. A number of recent behaviors have
suggested to me that he's feeling some insecurities as well, and no
wonder, what with all the upheaval our family's been through.
Thirdly, I'm making a little Facebook post each day with my favorite
“SAHM” moment. There were actually two today: 1) Listening to Z
whine for 30 minutes that he didn't want his food, and then watching
him delightedly devour all of it in three minutes after trying one bite; and 2)
calmly navigating the rather shocking comment by G that he and a girl
at school were “having babies.” (Turns out, they just both
decided to wear their backpacks on their fronts and pretend they were
each pregnant. Odd, but not as disturbing as it initially sounded.)
It has felt good this week to start each day with those three goals in mind. Then, if I have a moment of doubt during the day, I can ask myself: "Am I taking care of a necessary task? Or caring for Z? Or appreciating myself for where I am?"
 |
| Well, okay. When you put it that way. |
It is an incredible gift to be a stay-at-home-mom. I want to use it well.
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