All mamas work. Let’s get that qualification completely out of the way. Some work for money, some work for chits, pennies in heaven, for the good of the children.. fill in the blank. Me, I work for money and I work for my kids. I have two bosses now — actually four if you count all 3 daughters and the new boss man –but unlike Crystal Gale’s 70s lament: "Torn Between Two Lovers", this is a perfect set-up for a chick like me.
I get to enter the World of the Adult Brain, specifically the world of nonprofit financial management, for exactly 19 hours per week. And then I get to come back into the World of the Child Brain/ aka: the World of Mommy’s Addled Brain/ aka: the World of Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, and Big Blue Eyes a’cryin’, with a belly-laugh thrown in for good measure — usually theirs, not mine — for the remaining 149 hours.
It’s a good hearty complicated life… well, technically, it’s been a good hearty complicated life for two whole days, so I’m sure IT (LIFE) will have tons of fun devolving and evolving into many other things over the next 3 months of my contract. But it has many boxes (literally & figuratively) and I like it that way.
And this (this mood, this strange moment listening to the twins wrestle my husband who is playing the favorite game of tired parents everywhere ‘ Log in the River’ — all you do is lay on the ground and act like a log while the kids climb on your back) is the closest a non-Buddhist / uncentered/ totally unzen girl like me comes to being content.
This is my life on contentment. And it ain’t half-bad.
Wonderful post. You seem to have it all sorted out. The perfect balance. Me, I’m still seething with frustrated ambition, maybe things will change once I get a job.
Sounds like a wonderful life…
My husband’s version is that he is a zombie and needs to be awoken with a nice cold beer from the fridge…
Glad to hear it. Hope it lasts through the honeymoon period, and that this turns out to be the as-close-to-the-dream-job-as-possible job!
Yay! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying your new job, and that you’re getting both Adult Time and Kid Time.
Annie
Those moments of balance when you NOTICE the balance are like drops of grace. Thank you for sharing this one — I actually felt the contentment!
It sounds like you’ve found a balance already, at least mentally. And that’s a huge part of the challenge.
Glad to hear it’s working out so well!
My 70’s loving self just has to point out that it was Olivia Newton John who lamented the torment of two lovers…while poor Crystal’s Brown Eyes were Blue
Torn between Two Lovers by Olivia Newton John? HOW COULD I GET MY 70s MUSIC WRONG?? I am dead serious. My Mom listened to all the 70s I AM WOMAN crooners including Gale, N-J (pre-Xanadu), Janis Ian, Melissa Manchester, and others
I’m going to turn in my “Girls Lib” shirt now