A Promise is A Promise

When my daughter came home from her 5 week trip to visit her father, I promised that I would take a week off from work and spend it with her. Then came an important conference I felt I needed to attend three days into her time home. I worked out a deal with her. I would go to the conference and then pay her back a day. Today is my payback day. So why am I blogging in the middle of the afternoon? Because I had to find a way to have a working vacation day.

She’s sitting with me watching tv while I try to handle a few emails and write this post. The concession I had to make? Every few minutes she says, “Look mommy! Look!” It’s totally distracting, frustrating and I’ve realized absolutely fun! While catching up on past episodes of her new favorite show Phineas and Ferb, I got to crack up a few well placed jokes.

Phineas and Ferb was the one non-educational show that I was willing to let her watch. I’ll admit I came to the light side very reluctantly. She saw it a friend’s house and fell head over heels in love. My goal has always been to keep her as young as possible for as long as possible, but in today’s society that’s pretty tough. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the humor, originality and creativity of Phineas and Ferb.

In keeping my promise to my daughter we got to watch a LOT of Phineas and Ferb together.  This includes their latest, Phineas and Ferb the movie: Across the 2nd Dimension. We had a great time laughing and talking through the movie. My sensitive-hearted child cried with concern because Phineas and Ferb were in danger. This provided another opportunity for me to snuggle my little one, reassure her that everything was going to turn out alright and to just be there for her as she readjusted to being home.

It’s really easy for me to think that I need to put my work first, and realistically I do.  I can’t eat hope, and snuggles don’t pay the bills. Last night I realized that for the next few weeks I’m just going to have to get really creative while balancing my daughter’s needs and my work load. It’s doable. Parents do it everyday. I will have to improve my time and project management and the time I spend with my daughter will need to be  quality time.

It seems so simple, now I get a chance to make it so.

 

 

Sleepwalking Through Life

So if you are tired all the time, are you getting a chance to enjoy life?  I wonder. Sitting here typing, no idea what the heck is for dinner and needing to get moving – that’s what I’m wondering. I’m definitely going to get a cup of coffee before moving onto my next location because I just might not make it today.

I have this weird sensation inside. For all the typical trappings that I don’t have or can’t afford, my life is pretty wonderful. I am doing work that I am passionate about, there seem to be endless opportunities for me to grow and I have a beautiful, healthy and spirited child. Yes, I’m tired as hell…but I don’t think you can take on the world and not get tired from time to time.

As an entrepreneur there isn’t a lot of down time. I’m working when I wake up, after I put my daughter to bed and sometimes even in the middle of the night when I get up to go to the bathroom. Sadly, I am always checking my phone for messages or jotting down thoughts and ideas. It’s hard to turn it all off, but I plan on doing just that in a few weeks.

I have scheduled a week-long vacation for myself. I’m not going anywhere, I’m just going to spend that time having fun and loving up on my daughter. So often I find myself sleepwalking through my life. I’m doing routine stuff over and over again without even realizing it. I don’t take stock in whether or not I enjoy doing it.  I’m just doing it.

Today a woman invited me to go to a racetrack where I could ride along with a professional driver at speeds up to 150 miles per hour. I woke up for that one. I’m going to have to ponder the feasibility of that opportunity. It would definitely be a first for me and I’m sure it would be exciting.

Should it take a major adrenaline rush to wake me up to the majesty of my everyday life? I miss so much being caught up in getting caught up. Maybe I can wake up and ponder the beautiful things that happen every day, like my daughter’s laugh or the sway of honeysuckle in the gentle breeze – even if I’m tired.