The other day another mom paid me one of the greatest, if not undeserved compliments, when she asked me to help her get organized. She was lamenting the constant juggle of children, their activities, keeping house and caring for ailing parents.
I felt so flattered she thought I had it “together” and reassured her that while I am doing a lot, I often feel I am not doing anything particularly well. Not mothering, being a wife, and certainly not my life as a writer.
Sure, I get by. The kids get fed, they get to their activities and their homework is turned in. I make sure they have clean clothes - even if straight from the dryer or, more realistically, from the pile that needs folding…
But as much as I tried to convince my friend this unbalanced act is the norm, I couldn’t help but feel guilty about the lies told a week earlier to two younger women from my alma mater.
I felt like a deer caught in headlights when one asked, “Is it possible? To have it all? Children, marriage and a career?”
Tell the truth or fib? I like to think I skirted along the thin line between both - being truthful by omission.
No one truly wants to hear being married and raising children is harder than any job. They certainly don’t want to know the challenges when you add a full-time job to the mix!
So as much as my friends and I bemoan these things no one told us when we were in college, neither are we the ones to divulge this truth. Because as hard as being a wife, mother and writer can be at times - this life is more rewarding than mere words can describe.
And, I guess, that’s no lie.
I felt so flattered she thought I had it “together” and reassured her that while I am doing a lot, I often feel I am not doing anything particularly well. Not mothering, being a wife, and certainly not my life as a writer.
Sure, I get by. The kids get fed, they get to their activities and their homework is turned in. I make sure they have clean clothes - even if straight from the dryer or, more realistically, from the pile that needs folding…
But as much as I tried to convince my friend this unbalanced act is the norm, I couldn’t help but feel guilty about the lies told a week earlier to two younger women from my alma mater.
I felt like a deer caught in headlights when one asked, “Is it possible? To have it all? Children, marriage and a career?”
Tell the truth or fib? I like to think I skirted along the thin line between both - being truthful by omission.
No one truly wants to hear being married and raising children is harder than any job. They certainly don’t want to know the challenges when you add a full-time job to the mix!
So as much as my friends and I bemoan these things no one told us when we were in college, neither are we the ones to divulge this truth. Because as hard as being a wife, mother and writer can be at times - this life is more rewarding than mere words can describe.
And, I guess, that’s no lie.
written for http://blog.sacramentoparent.com/
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