Finding Balance

Every so often I receive emails that ask questions like "How do you do it all?" which make me laugh and cause me to think at the same time. As I strive to fulfill my roles as a wife + mother and nurture the desire in me to grow, learn and progress, a balancing act ensues. Some days I think to myself, "Today has been good!" while others I realize I have been very short-fused and unfocused on the things that matter most. Obviously I don't do it all. No one does. We're all trying to strike the balance. We're all trying to figure it out.

I started doing web design about 6 months ago and feel proud of what I have accomplished in such a short amount of time. With that being said, at times I have this nagging feeling that I am failing my children because they often have a distracted mom that is trying to reply to emails while scouring design inspiration all while reviewing a mental to-do list. 

This is what every day is like. I knew that working would involve time, energy, sacrifice and the eternal loss of sleep. However, I did not want to jump into my own personal success story at the expense of what matters most to me: My family. 

Sometimes the "mommy-guilt" creeps in and I feel as though I'm not matching up. I'm not matching up to my own silly standards. Standards that I've set from my associations with other mothers and the overflowing number of perfect mothers I seem to come across through blogs and Pinterest.

I tend to get caught up in the mentality that I can do it all. I want to take beautiful pictures, cook decent dinners, redecorate my home, plan detailed parties, play with my children, pay attention to my husband, have quiet spiritual moments for myself, fold mounds of laundry, stay in the loop of my social scene and in addition spend hours working on the computer. And I can do every single one of those things. But not all at the same time.

So, this summer, I'm cutting back a little on design work. I'm establishing better boundaries. I am going to set aside time to work each day, but also set aside time to blow bubbles outside, write on the driveway with chalk and maybe even run a few miles at the gym, maybe…

Here's to a simple and content summer!