When The Choice Is Easy
Most of the time, it’s a struggle. Trying to juggle work and life, as though those things are separate entities. There’s never enough time to do it all, so we prioritize. We choose. Some days work overshadows life. Other days life stretches and expands to fill every waking hour. Most days, we end up somewhere in the middle. We work, we play, we parent, never certain that we’ve gotten the ratio just right.
My 100 day experiment encouraged me to make every day a work day. That was the point, after all. I wanted to challenge myself to be creative and productive every day.
And I was. I am. I’ve worked on my book nearly every day since Lil Mil was born. And on the days I haven’t worked, I’ve thought about working.
Every day has been a work day.
Not today.
Today was not a work day. Today, I laid on the couch with a brave little girl with a bandaid on each thigh. We napped. We watched some TV (turns out Lil Mil is a SATC fan. Duh.) We giggled. We cuddled. We tried to forget about the smiley nurse and her three needles.
Today was a rest day. Not because I needed one, but because she did.
+ + + +
What was your work/life ratio today? 50/50? 20/80? 90/10? When was your last rest day? If you’re a work-at-home-mom, has your definition of “work day” changed since you had kids or started working from home? Are you a SATC fan?
Jessie at The Gimlet Eye
Friday, 11 June, 2010 at 8:49I love your blog…I am so happy to discovered it.
I have lived your I’m-creative-and-a-lawyer-at-a-big-firm existence…and continue to do so. Much comfort found here! Thanks for writing such an insightful (and funny) blog.
Nicole Larsen
Sunday, 30 May, 2010 at 8:40I don’t know the exact ratio, but since I work away from home, every day that I don’t GO to work, is NOT a work day. In fact, every minute I’m not at work, is not a work minute. I work 40 hours (usually a bit more), plus lunches, commute time, etc. I can’t stand getting home at 6:30 and having only 2 precious hours with my son in a day, let alone “wasting” any of it doing anything else. Which was also my excuse for not doing anything productive, like laundry, etc. I’m just learning now how to balance. (He’ll be 2 in a month…)
Rachel Cotterill
Friday, 28 May, 2010 at 13:26Is LilMil okay? I hate needles! And yes, a day off… I really, really need one of those. I always make myself do too much (and I don’t even have a child to look after). But I’m off to Greenland soon and we’ll have plenty of rest time
Eva @ Eva Evolving
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 7:26Oh, Lauren. I have so many thoughts in response to this little post. First, what adorable chunky little legs Mil has! Oh, I just want to squeeze them (but not where her Hello Kitty band-aid is).
I fully believe in days of rest. While I *believe* in the value though, I’m still working on *implementing* that belief consistently. Some days/weeks/weekends I’m better at allowing rest than others. I also believe that some days are just not meant to proceed smoothly – I wrote about this earlier this week. Some days things just don’t go your way, and all you can do it go to bed early and remember that tomorrow is a fresh start.
And do you know Karen Maezen Miller? Her blog is at http://www.karenmaezenmiller.com and oh, is she wise. Such a fresh – and refreshing – view on life. Yesterday she shared this Zen saying: “A day without work is a day with eating.” And I kind of liked that. It’s not meant to be depressing. Just that work uplifts us and nourishes us.
Rudri
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 7:07Nothing wrong with a self-appointed rest day. I think it helps with writing. After working on your novel for so long, the rest might inspire you to add another dimension. Have a great rest day!
Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat.
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 6:36Sounds like a perfect day – you need those ones to balance all the other days…
XO
Lenore
Christine LaRocque
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 6:30Being an out of home working mom I miss the days when I can do that. Right now, as I read this, I’m craving a snuggle with either of my boys. To feel their hair and softness. Oh, I miss them. And you are right, it always falls somewhere in between. Because I miss them SO MUCH when I’m working, but I’m also most happy when I’m working.
Hannah Katy
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 6:27Funny you should post about this… I woke up this morning and declared today to be a rest day.. I am going to take it easy, do a little shopping and perhaps lay out in the sun a bit. I just graduated from college and am not into full time work until August so the rest days often come consecutively ha ha.
Best,
Hannah Katy
Leslie
Thursday, 27 May, 2010 at 5:10um, “fan” is an understatement.
I’m a go-to-work mom, and we have family visiting this week; yesterday felt like 75/100, and many days feel like 100/100!
It’s tough. I think it must be hard to know when you’re working and when you aren’t at home; for me, it’s two days in one – it’s hard to turn off the working me when I get home to try and start the day over at five.
Corinne
Wednesday, 26 May, 2010 at 22:26Those days are my favorite… and it’s awful to say, but the days the kids get shots I know they’ll be a little sleepy, a little out of sorts, and I always look forward to the guaranteed cuddles. Silver lining and all