Work/Life Balance
Dear
Girlfriends,
I write to you
this morning completely overwhelmed. Standing in the middle of my three-ring
circus of family, work, and personal pursuits, I have moved from my favorite
role of ringmaster (I love being in charge) to the lady riding bareback on the
white pony (preparing for a huge client presentation). . .while performing a
courageous act with the tigers (completing the manuscript for my book). . . in
my clown suit (while babysitting Ava). Before noon today I will have performed every
role in my personal crazy circus. And I
love it.
Loving the
fact that I'm overwhelmed probably seems counterintuitive - or just sick. But
for those of us who have learned what work/life balance is, it makes perfect
sense. And this is what I want Ava to see: that work/life balance doesn't mean sacrificing
things as much as it means loving all the acts we're allowed to play. Work/life
balance is not something you do or don't do; it's about the enthusiasm with
which you greet your roles.
Shauna was
six and her brother Scott was three when I worked two part-time jobs and took 16-hour
semester loads in college. My schedule was as perfectly timed as the finest
trapeze artists, up at 5:00 a.m. and to bed at midnight. In between school and my two jobs
we carpooled, did homework and housework, cooked all meals from scratch, and
often entertained ourselves with our family trampoline act (literally). Yes, I
was a walking, talking lunatic. But I wouldn't trade one minute of that
exhausting life stage. Why? Because I had
something to be enthusiastic about. I spent more time celebrating my life
at that moment than I did lamenting how hard tomorrow would be. Work/life
balance? I wouldn't understand the concept or conflict until years later.
Fast
forward eleven years. Balancing a long commute with two teenagers and a demanding
career in a Fortune 500 company wasn't that hard either - until I lost my
wonder for it all. Spending nearly three hours in the car every day, becoming
less important to my children, and realizing that the top rung of the ladder
was not where I wanted to be - my excitement for all things from work to family
began to wane. And with waning comes complaining. Not because my circus performance
was any more difficult, but because I failed to be entertained by any of my own
acts. Work/life balance? It didn't take me long to understand that I needed an
attitude adjustment; I realized for me, work/life balance was more about what
was in my head than what was on my to-do list.
As Ava
grows, she'll watch her Sugar run a
company, craft Truth Nuggets, write books, travel to faraway countries, love
her Pop, and play with her each
Monday. I will show her that work/life balance is not as much about the number
of rings in our circus as it is about the pure rush of climbing on that pony.
We act as though
comfort and luxury are the chief requirements in life, when all that we need to
make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. - Charles Kingsley
Giddy up,
Ellen,
a.k.a. Sugar
Posted by Ellen on July 8, 2008 5:03 PM
| Category: What Does It Look Like?
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