Go, stop, go, stop, go, go, go, stop. Perhaps this has been an evident pattern with my sporadic blog posting. This pattern that I’m referring to is how I feel it is to try to ebb and flow as I transitioned into motherhood, and now trying to balance/juggle my personal, career, and everything else in between.
So my question is: is this just a phase? Or is this my new normal?
Maybe it’s just a phase and once my kids are older it will be easier? Or maybe not. Maybe this is my new normal and it’s about adjusting to juggling these different aspects.
My guess is that this is my new normal.
While motherhood surpasses all of my expectations and dreams that I have of what a wonderful love this special kūlana (status) of māmā would be, there are also times when I feel guilty. Guilty that I can’t be there for my kids at all times because I need to work. Guilty at work because I can’t participate in all the fun social stuff, or do every work trip, or sometimes just showing up to the office is a challenge. Then I re-call what my co-worker told me recently: “…part-time Sharde is better than no Sharde at all.” I do work part-time, so I think he meant this quite literally. But then I thought about how this applies to other areas of my life as I try to balance and juggle it all.
It feels especially challenging at times, especially when I don’t check myself and have a mahalo i ka mea i loaʻa perspective (see previous blog post), because it feels as if I need to do double or triple the work just to keep up. Or perhaps I’m not doing something right?
Work-life balance, does it really exist? Can a mom really have it all–career, personal, and family life? These topics and questions are written about and talked about often. What do you think: is this my new normal?