The funniest thing about this summer has been how busy I felt. The first part was busy with moving and then unpacking. After that it was busy with getting used to cleaning this big house and training for the big hike. I also started a new job and suddenly we found ourselves up to our eyeballs in weeds (I had no idea how much time we'd spend weeding!).
I don't know where the time went, but I can tell you where the time didn't go... here! I feel like I have barely spent any time at my computer. Not that this is a bad thing, but it's just very different than how I thought my summer would go.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic summer, and I'm so, so, so, SO grateful for the month plus that I had off. I can guarantee that we wouldn't be as unpacked as we are if that hadn't been the case. I also got to spend some great time with our neighbors and really felt like I could stay on top of things around the house. Most importantly, it was also a complete and total blessing to feel like a real wife again.
The down side to staying on top of things around the house and being a real wife was that I felt like I needed to justify and account for every minute of each day. It was an unexpected outcome of not working. I thought I'd nonchalantly get some housework done and then spend the rest of the time getting and staying caught up on my hobbies. Instead, I found that I felt really guilty if I took any time for myself.
When I started working in July, even though it was only 4-5 hours/day at first (turned into closer to full time by the end), I felt like I could justify sitting down for an hour before getting started on the dishes and dinner. I would usually spend this time reading my book study book or getting caught up on photo editing, but felt really guilty if I spent idle time on the computer.
It was an interesting lesson about myself. Someday I'll stay home with kids and this summer has made me realize that I'll have to be very purposeful in carving out some time for myself. Otherwise, between my own guilt and the needs of kids.. I'll shift my workaholic tendencies and never take a moment for my sanity.
So.. How did I do on my summer goals? Here's my summer progress report:
1. Learn Spanish - Super fail. This required too much sitting in front of the computer. Oh well!
2. Read Through the Bible in 90 Days - Almost met! I was scheduled to finish on August 31, but currently I'm a bit behind.
3. Organize - Met! I feel like I had time, and took the time, to get us settled and organized.
4. Training - Met!
5. Be a Better Wife - sounds conceited but: Met!
6. Daily Photography Challenge - Met! See the photos here and here
7. Knitting - Continue, little progress made.
8. Wake Up - {Mostly} Met!
9. Blog! - {Mostly} Met! Even though it doesn't feel like it, when I look back there are several posts about summer. I'd hoped to do more creative or thoughtful blogging, rather than just the life updates though.
10. TBD - Met! This turned out to be: Enjoy!
And enjoy I did! What a great summer.
Looks like a productive and enjoyable summer. Where does the time ever go? I would say one of my greatest challenges of being a mom and staying at home is balancing that feeling of feeling like I never achieve my goals (because the tasks are so revolving...housework gets undone, kids need fed regularly, etc) and feeling bad about that because therapists set goals, measure progress, write (mental) reports of assessment and then the feeling of being a slave to my to-do list and neglecting what is truly important. :) Ever searching for balance.
ReplyDeleteI think I understand what you mean about justified downtime. Being a fulltime nanny this summer has changed how I approach my time as well. I spend a lot of time checking my social networks on my phone while we're out and about, but I feel like I have to get so much cleaning and organizing done before I can justify leaving the house. Silly really.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I spent the summer at home which is different for me. I found it hard to get done most of what I thought would be reasonable (laundry , dinner, keep children alive... don't worry, I never compromised on the last one, just the first two). And yet I have no idea what I spent the time doing...
ReplyDeleteSeems like you were productive!!
-Lisa