Learning

Remember back when I thought I would be bored this week (see two posts ago)? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! I am completely laughing at my utterly naive self. This week kicked my ass! Mostly because I'm not really unemployed; I'm self-employed. I've got contract work and some copyright cases keeping me busy during the three and a half hours my son is at school. Do you know how short a time three and a half hours is? It's short. This week, I envisioned (1) dusting off my running shoes and going for an hour-long jog or hike at least three times, (2) taking everything out of my kitchen cabinets and giving the kitchen a good scrub, (3) returning a couple shirts I bought from Target two months ago that I chose not to try on in the store and ended up looking pretty hideous on me, (4) making some diy-cleaning recipes that I've been itching to try, (5) laying on the couch sipping my morning coffee while catching up on the news, and, oh yes, (6) relaxing, de-stressing. I accomplished none of the above.

The three hours allotted to contract work was not enough. So after I picked my son up from school on Monday and Tuesday, I gave him puzzles and tried to continue working. But he wanted to play with me. And I needed to do work. But he wanted to play. And I started to get annoyed - doesn't he understand that I need to work?! And then I caught myself. What on earth am I doing? He is the reason I'm at home in the first place - so I can spend more time with him! Sounds fairly obvious but I've been such a workhorse for the past ten years that it's hard to jump out of that mode. And I realized: there's a learning curve for being a self-employed, work-from-home mom. When we are together, I put the computer away and we play. (Note that I said computer; I haven't yet shaked the habit of checking emails every four minutes.) The rest of the week was much better because I unabashedly blocked work from my head during playtime.

Notwithstanding the craziness of my week (and the fact that my kitchen is a complete and utter mess), I feel more happy and relaxed than I have in years. So on that note, I leave you with some wise words from pinterest: