Who here swore you would never give up your goals after having kids? I don’t mean neglect your kids to achieve your goals. I mean take time to hold onto you, the person you are, and the goals that define you while you raise adorable humans.
Yeah? Me too.
Pre-kids I would set my eyes on a goal and with intense focus and drive, I would go after it. Sometimes it took a day or two, and sometimes it took a year, and in other cases it took four or more years to achieve my goal. Despite the length of time, I never gave up.
Post-kids I…. well… here is an example…
As I write this, with 100% commitment to me and working towards my post-kid goals, my 8 year old has an upset tummy, swears she is going to throw up and keeps going in and out of the bathroom while my 1 year old keeps saying “Mama! Maaaaamaaaaa! Wa-wa! (toddler for water).” Every time little Kinsy-bop starts to settle down, her big sister turns on the bathroom light and she gets revved up again. Please note that it is 10:18 pm and we are in a hotel in Virginia.
As moms, we have personal dreams and goals. But, we also have priorities and responsibilities to our offspring who depend on us. Some of us are better than others when it comes to prioritizing our personal goals. Some are better at time management. Some of us can function on less sleep.
Oh, how I envy the lucky moms out there who can consistently function on 7 or less hours of sleep! My goodness, what I could accomplish with an extra 365+ hours per year in my life!!! Lord help me, though, if I don’t sleep for at least 8 hours. Actually, pray for all the people around me if I get less than 8 hours. I am a completely useless momzilla, wifezilla, shezilla… or any other term you would like to attach to an excessively cranky woman.
Here is the deal… my kids know I have business goals. They have been asking me why I haven’t been writing on my blog.
Here is the truth… If I stay up late to work, I can barely function during the day. During the day I have commitments to my kids – most specifically my toddler who is not in pre-school yet. However, I refuse to tell them that. I never want my children to think that they are the reason I am delaying my ambitions.
Several weeks ago, my oldest son said “Mom, NEVER give up.” when we were talking about this blog. I didn’t tell him I was giving up… I may be delaying my plans a bit, however I am definitely not giving up. But, he defines what I am not doing as quitting. I never want my kids to view me as a quitter; or worse, have them believe that quitting is acceptable when life gets busy or hard.
Last night, after driving 5 hours to Virginia with 4 kiddos, doing the tourist thing at Cooter’s and eating Boss Hoggs at Daisy’s Diner followed by a dip in the hotel pool with a grumpy toddler, I sat down with a Hershey’s Almond bar, water and laptop. I plugged in my ear-buds and watched BH90210 over spotty hotel wifi. A guilty pleasure which helped me chill after the fun and zany day we had.
This morning, over our complimentary continental breakfast my 9 year old excitedly announced, “Mommy! I saw you working on your blog last night! I was up until 11:26 pm!”
First of all, last night I was in bed by 10:15 pm and there is no clock facing his side of the room so I have no idea how he could state such a specific time.
Secondly, I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was zoning into mindless, counterproductive Hulu.
Thirdly, I felt intense guilt for not practicing what I preach.
So, here I am, night two of our road trip, and instead of bing-watching Netflix, I am writing.
I am writing because I enjoy it.
I am writing because I owe it to myself to keep moving forward.
I am writing because my kids are watching.
… For those who are concerned… no, my 8 year old did not throw up. She is completely fine and snoozing soundly.
Curious why I started this blog in the first place? Check out my first post here.
What goals are you delaying in order to take care of your family? Write them in the comments below so we can help each other stay committed.