The never-ending theme in our lives these days is work / life balance. I was asked recently for a quote on what it is like to start & run your own business, and raise two small children at the same time. Just one quote?
I’m sure I said it was wonderful. Anyone who knows us, knows that we started down this extreme path because the daycare route tore us up inside. It’s for the kids, it’s about the kids.
But it becomes selfish too & the kids sacrifice. Like my daughter sacrificing a week of school, only her favorite place in the world, so we could attend our first trade show.
There are compromises and rationalizations - such as “we’ve taught her to read, taught her most things in fact, at home” - There are days where we have to apologize from the outset that we have a lot, a lot, a lot of work to do. They will not get as much focus as they usually do, because we are trying to meet our deadlines, so we can keep our dream alive.
But my biggest rationalization is proving to be truer day-by-day: this is life. Life is a lot of work and a little bit of play. We work hard. We play hard. Right now, we’re at a place where we work harder & longer than we play, but we’re still with our kids all day - at least one of us is, and our kids are incredibly balanced, creative, intelligent, well-rounded children.
My quote on life / work balance was something to the extent of “it’s an invaluable experience. My children, at two and four, understand amazing concepts about work before play, needing money, how to make money, and that work and play can blend & bend throughout the day.” Actually, my quote was probably a lot choppier than that; not so eloquent.
But if I had then, the few minutes I’ve had now to consider it, that’s exactly how I would have worded it.
For all the hard work it takes above and beyond the regular routine, it is still the best option for us. So, we work on and on to keep it going. And I recommend trying your own thing, following your dreams, to everyone I meet. For the journey alone, if nothing else…
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