Juggling Multiple Roles
As a working mom of two, I am the ringleader of two beautiful little girls. Getting ready for the day and out of the house on time often seems like a circus act. I thrive on chaos and coffee trying to convince and/or bribe (because I am not above that) my small humans to complete the necessary tasks to get out the door on time.
To begin, my work days consist of waking up at the butt crack of dawn usually around 5:30 am, getting myself ready (hopefully before my small humans wake up), waking up and gathering my small humans, convincing the small humans to participate getting ready quick enough to leave the house on time between 6:50-7:00 am, getting them to daycare in one piece looking somewhat presentable, and then arriving to work on time which in reality is at least 20 minutes before my first patient arrives to do chart-review (if I’m lucky) to get ready for the day.
.At work, I am the lead PT of a kick-butt outpatient physical therapy clinic where I am “in charge” of three PTs including myself and two PTAs along with a few techs and other support staff. Generally speaking, I work from 8 am-6 pm most days with lunch and a few other free hours thrown in there to get to 40 hours weekly. The best part is, I work with such amazing PTs that I rarely have to “manage” them. In all reality, at work, I get to have fun, treat patients, and worry minimally about managing anyone. I am lucky from that perspective. I know not everyone is so blessed.
After work, I get to high-tail it home to see my beautiful babies for an hour or two before bedtime. In the evenings, I get to juggle play time, dinner time, bath time, and bedtime all within that tiny time frame.
How do I get it all done, you ask?
Well, let me tell you!
I have a live-in best friend who is mostly responsible for cooking dinner on weeknights and I have a wonderful husband who is also helpful. Aside from that, bath time only occurs 1-2 times per week – usually once throughout the week and once on the weekends. Everything else is a daily occurrence that gets accomplished as the small humans allow.
Once the small humans have made it to bed peacefully or not, I get to finally feel like a wife and cuddle up to my hubby. Although, most nights, I fall exhaustedly onto the couch to watch an episode of who-knows-what and then drag myself to bed afterward to get some amount of rest before one of the small humans wake up (probably the baby for a night feeding) and then eventually begin the chaos all over again in the morning.
The weekends are when all the fun happens. I get the opportunity to get some R and R (rest and recovery) along with quality small human and husband time. Weekends are the balancing factor from the hectic work week where I get to take a step back and enjoy the roses a bit.
Importance of Being Kind to Yourself
It’s easy to forget about ourselves when we’re busy juggling so much. As parents, we often put other people (usually our children) first, especially when we’re trying to do more than one thing at once. However, taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of others. You need to take time out for yourself to recharge and rejuvenate. This will help you to be a better parent, spouse, friend, employee, etc.
The amount of time you need to take time for yourself will vary as life varies. Some people require a small amount daily whereas others take vacations 3-4 times a year as their form of self-care. Whatever that amount of time is for you, know that it is IMPORTANT and NECESSARY. For me, I love to run so being able to be baby-free for a run most days is important to me. It allows me to de-stress and find a peace of mind that I am not able to find anywhere else in life. Running is freeing for me as it is the only time of the day I can be phone-free and the only ones who can bother me are the people in my life who can keep up which currently only consists of my best friend and my husband. Thank goodness, I don’t find them bothersome
Another form of self-care I recently started investing in has been getting my nails done with my best friend every 3-4 weeks while I was pregnant with my second kiddo. It made me feel more “pretty” and “normal” while I was getting bigger and bigger. It is something I have continued since having my second and who knows how long it will last, but it’s been a fun, little date time for me and my best friend to spend some quality time together catching up. We may live together, but between my husband and the two small humans at home getting quality alone time with my best friend is few and far between these days. It is a special time I cherish and look forward to at the moment. So, as I said before, take the time and be kind to yourself.
What is the purpose of Parenthood?
This seems like a loaded question, but I feel the answer is quite simple. I think you could ask 100 parents this question and get 100 answers and I do not think any one answer would be wrong. I think the purpose of parenthood varies for everyone, but since becoming a parent, I feel I have circled back to this same thought over and over again.
So picture this, you’re doing chores around the house and it hits you that you haven’t had to step over your two-year-old at your feet in quite some time. You think, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SHE DOING, as the panic sets in. You quickly start scanning room to room for your kiddo. As you approach her room you hear a low murmur of voices as you realize your best friend and Godmother to your child is entertaining her for the moment. You sit there for a moment to hear their conversation. My best friend is trying to teach my little girl Spanish and is trying to get her to roll her Rs. As my little girl repeats the R sound over and over at the request of my best friend (it sounds hilarious and I’m sure we would be the only two in the world to know what she is trying to do). Eventually, my best friend laughs and says, “ohhhh baby, you’re too cute,” reaching out to pull my little girl in for a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Witnessing this moment in its genuineness, again, reminds me of what I feel is the purpose of parenthood. I believe the purpose of being a parent is to surround your kids with a village of people that love your kids almost as much as you do (because who could ever love your children as much as you do).
Few things bring me more joy than watching someone love my child almost as much as I do. I know at that moment this person (my best friend) would do anything to love and protect my child as I would. I strive to fill my children’s village with people that will be there to support, uplift, and challenge them in a way to help them succeed in life.
I want my child to succeed past my being here and I believe that starts by building a village of people around them as children that would support and defend them in a way my husband or I would. The village is important for multiple reasons, but in adolescence, it is so that if my husband and I were to have untimely deaths they are taken care of without a doubt. As teenagers and so forth, my hope, as a parent, is that they have learned the ability to choose the correct people to continue expanding that village to include people of their choosing to support them to be successful as they venture out into the world of endless possibilities.
The purpose of parenthood is many, but to me, it will always be about surrounding my small humans with others to protect, uplift, and challenge them to be better versions of themselves daily.
