A Peek Inside a Working Mom Week

I'm taking a moment to reflect on my week. I don't get to sit and just reflect often so when I do, I find our lives to be a bit incredible. 

I had 5 or 6 phone meetings and an online workshop on Monday. I was honored to hear presentations from local nonprofit groups on Tuesday for this United Way grant funding cycle. I left United Way and spent time with other active parents serving on the PTO board at Rocky Hill. We spent Wednesday morning visiting veterans and I spent the afternoon in an incredible meeting with local literacy and education experts discussing reading and literacy in our community. Thursday was spent in final prep mode for the Thomas Friedman event that brought almost 800 community members out for an incredible lecture.

I worked every night this week. Even on Valentine's Day. There were emails to answer and plans to finalize.

There is also this little marathon event coming up in March and there was a price increase this week so Altman was working right alongside me. 

There are also children to raise so I cooked dinners, did laundry, broke up fights, cuddled, and snuggled. I took Jackson for a run on Tuesday so that we could have some time together and catch up. Because Altman had a late meeting on Tuesday, we picked up Karson and had mommy/boys time until daddy came home. 

Then Wednesday came and with the giving of Valentine's, there was also the giving of Flu B. Jackson began complaining of a stomachache around dinner and was throwing up by 8:30 pm. He kept going through the night and finally settled around 3:00 AM. Then, he had nightmares for two hours. Then, he was up and throwing up again. He even threw up at the doctor's office where he tested positive for Flu B. 

I would say that I slept roughly two hours if that. And I only slept those two hours because I physically passed out while trying to stay awake and anticipate the next round of vomit.

There were no naps yesterday. The triple latte from Starbucks and the adrenaline from event day kept me moving into the evening. I was able to finally get home around 10:15 PM last night and since the kids refused sleep until I got home, we got them both to bed around 11:00 PM.

I'd could say this isn't a typical week but it actually is pretty typical. There might not be an 800 person event but I host a ton of meetings and each one is almost like a mini-event.

No complaints here. We picked this life and I love it. This time of year always brings an extra need for reflection and I am so proud of this incredible journey that we are on and also laughing at how you just never know what life will throw at you. Literally. 

I was able to get coverage for myself for a meeting today so that I can work at home and take care of my kiddo (who is still very sick). 

And no, just because this is the weekend doesn't mean there is downtime. The boys aren't yet both at an age where they don't need us so we'll be working on keeping them alive until time for school again.

And there is lots of laundry to do. A lot. It's like a service line of sheets and towels that are waiting to be cleaned (sanitized) from our recent flu adventures.

So, the week isn't over but and will probably just blur into the next one. That's okay.

That's all for now, I've got a sick kid to check on. See you on the roads! K

Goal: Give Myself a Break

I haven't looked up any statistics but I would venture to guess that most people would find themselves to be their own worst critics. I certainly am. There is no one in the world that could be harder on me than myself. I've been this way since I was a child. I am sure that's shocking news for everyone. :)

As I've gotten older, I have become slightly more patient (when I had zero patience for many years) and slightly more flexible in life but I would like to be able to give myself a break once in awhile.

I'd say I am a work in progress but I don't like the message indicated by that phrase. It sounds like there's something wrong with me and I need to be "fixed". It takes all types of personalities for the world to go round and I won't apologize or feel bad for working hard, being detailed, being organized, making every effort for things to run smoothly, and putting my heart and soul in to whatever I do in life. It's who I am and I'm proud of it but I also understand that there's room for growth.

With that said, I've decided that a new goal in life is to give myself a break when warranted.

Here's an example:

I was very sick last week. I was basically comatose on Tuesday and in a fog through Friday. I got up Saturday morning with the intention of running six miles because that's what was on my schedule. It didn't matter that I had been sick. It didn't matter that I didn't run Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. It didn't matter that I was wheezing and coughing up lungs after running for four minutes during a run/walk workout on the treadmill on Friday.

The six-miler didn't happen. I ran half a mile and it hurt to breathe. I finished mile one and took a short break in which another runner stopped to tell me what a great day it was for a run and that maybe I should try some strides to open up my lungs and that they always work for him....

What do you know about those around you?

Couple things from today.....

We have had a few things break around the house and had our fav repairman over to fix them. Since May (when we last saw him), he discovered that his cancer had returned, has had a hip replacement to remove huge masses of the cancer, had radiation for the tumors on his back and remaining tumors on pelvis, is doing immunotherapy treatment, and will have his next round of radiation on the 19th of this month to treat the tumor in his neck. He showed me photos of the masses and told me all of this while he worked away at removing an old fan. He's 54. He is optimistic that the treatments will give him more time. We also talked about how he couldn't be angry about his own prognosis when he'd go to the doctor and see young people with this awful disease. What an amazing way to start the day. Hearing his story really made me take a step back and think about my blessings.

This afternoon, I spent time with some of my fav gals for lunch and a movie. We saw Wonder. I pretty much cried from start to finish. My advice - go see it. Then see it again and make sure your kids see it. Everyone should see this movie. It's well done and will make you think about how you treat others. Given the news lately, we need to be having conversations about how to treat one another and we should be leading by example. Whether you have kids or not, you should treat others with respect and kindness.

I know we all try to be extra kind during the holiday season but maybe that kindness could extend in to the new year and beyond. Perhaps if we put down our electronics and connected with one another, the world would be less angry and judgmental. There is a saying that you can't hate me if you don't know me (or something similar) so if we took the opportunity to stop being so quick to judge others in all situations and get to know them then we might just start a movement.

Happy Holidays friends!