Wrenny Penny is in school full-time. Now that Chris has a new job (yay for Christopher and his new job!), it’s even tougher to work from home with a kid, so Wren is in school. Wren isn’t the kid that she used to be: she needs a lot more time and attention now that she’s a raging almost-3-year-old. When it’s time to work, I don’t have to split my time between trying to figure out what to get done with my 3 year old begging to play with me. The reality is that I found it annoying that I couldn’t play with her, but at the same time, found it annoying that I couldn’t work.
Last week was the first official week that Wren was in school full-time, and I’m not going to lie, it was a bit of a relief. Wrenny needs this kind of thing. As business owners and parents, a lot of times we hold ourselves to crazy standards. We think that because we see how other parents are doing things (or seemingly doing things based on social media), that in a perfect world, we’d be working for the 2.5 hours a day that our children are napping. The other 21.5 hours a day, we should be living, breathing, and playing with our children. And once they go to bed, maybe we’ll work some more instead of spending time with our significant others or having a life outside of owning a business and being a parent.
Is it realistic though, as a business owner, to only work 10-15 hours a week? Not if you want to go full force and be full time. If you’re really able to do that, more power to you. I’m not that person. Neither is my husband.
So do you know what that means?
As of September 4th, Wren and Piper are in school full-time. Piper is even going to the after school program. They’re going to get great educations, and have an amazing time making new friends. When we’re home, I want to be home with the kids. I want to have a life outside of being a parent.
I’m fortunate enough that I do have that life. I hang out with my friends once or twice a week. I leave to go to networking events. Living my life means that when it’s family time, it’s FAMILY time. When it’s time for me, it’s time for me. That may sound selfish or self-serving, but guess what else? I can’t take care of anyone else until I take care of myself. It’s important to remember that we all have our own identities outside of being business owners and parents.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t maintain that Misty Saves the Day isn’t all about creating a good work-life balance for business owners. Quite the contrary. It’s about taking a piece of work (social media, blogging, submissions, second shooting) off of your plate so that you can do the same thing that I’m doing. Enjoy your life outside of being a business owner – and enjoy being a business owner when it’s time to do so.
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