Loving Our Selfies- Finding Balance

I’m baaaaaaaaack. Did you miss me? Or did you even notice I was gone? HA!I apologize for the long absence, we moved into a new house and then my nugget had surgery. To put it mildly, things have been hectic. However, all of this hecticness (< yep, totally a word) has me thinking about life as a working parent and how hard it can be, especially for those of us who work from home and our work is IN OUR FACE. ALLLLLLL THEEEEE TIIIIME.Who has a hard time not sneaking into their office whenever they can? Who ends up working at night after dinner and the kids are in bed? Anyone reading this find they don’t spend as much quality time with their kids OR spouse as they want? And even if you aren’t married and don’t have kids, are you taking time away from things you NEED or WANT to do? Are you all like me and can’t turn your brain off to save your life???????What the last month or so has taught me, or reminded me really, was why I retired from teaching to take on parenting and photography. My purpose wasn’t to work as many hours as I did in the classroom, but to spend quality time with my daughter AND my husband, together and separately. So, I’m making a pact with myself. The three days a week my crazy, sweet, and sassy two and a half year old is at daycare, I’m going balls to the wall (am I allowed to say that???). All engines go. Ride or Die. Basically, I will bust my bum to get done everything I need to work wise. That’s my goal at least. I know some weeks will be more difficult than others to achieve this, but I’m going to try.Let me be honest, I’m not always the most efficient when it comes to working at home, there are a TON of distractions, and I have complete ADHD (for real) but, if I want to make this career work with running a household and raising a positive, functioning, and contributing member of society, (I’ll need some prayers for this one to happen ;) ) then that’s what I NEED to do.I’m inspired by a lot of you out there who want to do the same thing. Find the balance of work that contributes to your families income, or your own, work that does good things for young people by boosting their self-esteem, and spend quality time with family, friends, and last but not least, maybe even a little “me” time.Latasha Haynes of Ike & Tash inspires me often with her wise words about spending time with family and not allowing work to take over. Brooke Daniels is another bosslady I respect because she seems to do the same. I don’t know either of them personally, but their words on social media resonate with me.Of course, all of this is muuuuuuch easier said than done. Many of you rely on your income to make ends meet, whether you are the sole provider or a second income. Many of you may not get only three days to focus on what you need to do, so you do it when you can, and that’s ok, not just ok, it’s amazing. I just think we all need to take a step back sometimes and realize that life goes quickly. For my Kenny Chesney fans out there, he has a song called “Don’t Blink” and a line that sticks with me is, “don’t blink, you just might miss your babies growing like mine did…life goes faster than you think, so don’t blink.”I respect everyone’s work ethic, drive, and determination, whichever form and whatever hours of the day it is, just don’t forget to love your family, friends, your God, and your selfie in the midst of all of it.