Is this you? I know it's me.
Trying to balance daily life, my painting business, my husbands business, the house,
cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, watching my grandbabies, social media, buying, selling & picking up furniture - and on & on.
The great juggling act.
Once that ball falls, is it over?
You know I don't have little ones at home anymore - let's backup the gravy
train. I may not have little children anymore but I do have grandchildren. So I'm a
work at home Nani. Two little ones I watch on Mondays & Fridays, I mean little bugs -
2 1/2 yrs & 1 1/2 yrs, both boys. So this balancing act, my free time, my scheduling is a must
not an option! And believe me, my tank goes to empty real quick!
Sometimes I don't say no enough. No to taking on more custom orders - no to doing
laundry today (my husband has clean socks) & there's always tomorrow - no to fixing dinner
(I can order dinner from DJ's who has the best home style cooking in town) - no to someone
who offers me another vintage piece ( there will always be another great one). So you know
how it goes - right?
..
Oh and did I mention the cats - our cat Mystery (who looks just like this one
in this picture) had 3 kittens the beginning of summer. One has gone to a good
home and the other 2 (boy's) have been staying with us until they get to go to
a good home next month. So two little boys on top of these two busy boy kittens.
Mind you, these are our daughters cats. Hmm - maybe I should have listened to
my own advice and said no.
So painting is where I can combine by quiet time (it's a solitary trade), my prayer
time and my love of transforming the old into the new again. It's a matter of balancing it all.
I've learned to schedule my time better and to stick to my lists. I also keep a journal of how my
time is spent and what I accomplished. I'm in awe of how much I can accomplish from Tuesday
to Thursday. The other days are family times - that's a must!
So my small business whitehousebluegarden was created with balance in mind. I love
what I do, the vintage finds and making these pieces "pretty" again. .
So I set those parameters. I know when it's cutoff time from the "studio" - shop is closed.
My evenings are spent with Fats (my husband). We hop into our big four poster at a decent
hour. We pray together, talk about our day and our businesses, watch a movie and a call it a
night.
Family is everything and should always be priority (beside God) - My son, daughter-in-law & the five boys, my daughter and Miss Layla, my parents, father-in-law and my big extended family. So don't let demands be put on you - I've learned
that it's ok to have a gazillion wooden blocks laid all out over my kitchen
and the boys are making snow angels with them, or Miss Layla has sticky
flour all over my counters making salt dough with red food coloring!
Those things make me smile and I can't get those times back.
I did a previous post titled "don't sweat the small stuff" and between the two
post - I think it's all ok. Life is a balancing act but remember YOU are in
control of it! So take care, set parameters and it's ok to say no!
TOODLES - KAREN
