Life's A Dance

Yesterday I had an early morning meeting out of town, so I had a 2 hour drive right away in the morning.  I know many people that hate traveling for work.  Frankly, I enjoy it.  I find it rather relaxing to be alone with my thoughts for a couple of hours.  I also enjoy being able to crank-up the music and just zone out for awhile!

My secret shame is listening to 80's and 90's county... I know what you might be thinking..."she actually likes that twangy sound?!".  Yes I do!  Older county music has a storytelling element to it that you don't find in modern day county.  Something about it speaks to me or maybe I'm a secret redneck! 

The song "Life's a Dance", by John Michael Montgomery came on and I started reflecting on some of the lyrics and relating it to parenting.  He says "Life's a dance, you learn as you go.  Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow.  Don't worry about what you don't know.  Life's a dance you learn as you go".  These lyrics could not translate any better to parenting.  In terms of becoming a parent - you can read as many books as you can get your hands on and take every class offered , but when that little baby comes into the world most soon realize how little they actually know about child rearing and that most things they thought  would work for them get thrown straight out the window!  While pregnant, I spent so much time worrying about what I didn't know and what I should expect about labor, delivery, and taking care of a newborn, but when it really came down to it I just had to roll with the punches.  Clearly I didn't plan for a 43 hour labor or to have a baby with reflux, but we just had to go with it and learn as went along. 

J.M.M. goes on to say "There's a time to listen, a time to talk, and sometimes you have to crawl even after you walk" and "been knocked down by the slammed door, picked myself up and went back for more".  So true!  Every time my husband and I think we have our little man figured out he throws us a curve-ball and we have to figure him out all over again. As a new parent, sometimes it can feel so defeating to not know what to do or it's just plain overwhelming, but the only thing to do is to keep on going in the hope that things will get better.  Speaking from experience, things to do get better!  I was covered in spit-up for months, and thought that I would never see the light at the end of the tunnel, but everything gets better with time. 

Granted, I have only been a parent for 8 months, but I have changed, grown, and learned so much in that short amount of time.  Sometimes I feel like I am a shadow of my former self and that as a parent I know myself much better than I did before having a baby. 

My advice to everyone out there - Parenting is a "dance" that no one can do perfectly.  Most of us were scared when the "music" started and looked pretty terrified and even silly at times while learning, but everyone catches on eventually! 

A Mother's Intution

All you Mama's out there know exactly what I am referring to when I say "mother's intuition".  Just in case you don't know, it's that little voice or feeling that tells you when something just isn't right.  I like to think that I have always had fairly good intuition, but ever since my little boy came into this world my intuition has been taken to a whole other level!  Typically, I can be at work and can tell if my little man is having a rough day or if he isn't feeling well.  For me, intuition usually manifests in the form of a funny feeling in my stomach...  Just like in the childrens book, Madeline.  Miss. Clavel can always tell when "something isn't right"...  I can just tell when something isn't quite right with my little boy.

Today my intuition was tested...  To add a little bit of context to this story I will let you know that my baby has had a head cold since last week so he has had a runny nose, a bit of a cough, and his eyes have been a little gooey (which isn't too uncommon for him while he is sick).  Even though he has a cold, he seems to be feeling OK.  He still eats, naps, plays, and is as smiley as usual.  So back to the story...I had dropped my little man off at daycare this morning and told the ladies that he was still battling a cold and that his eyes are a little gross today, but I don't think its anything to worry about.  No more than two hours after I got to work, I received a call from the daycare asking if I could take my son to the clinic to get checked for pink eye... 

There I was...sitting at a mental crossroad... I had to chair a meeting across town in about 45 minutes and had a meeting with a potential intern in a few hours.  I saw two options and neither felt right.  Option one: I cancel the meeting and take him to the clinic. Option two:  I ask if they can keep him until the afternoon and schedule an appointment for after work.  What to do???  Do I ask the daycare to suck it up because my intuition tells me that he is fine or do I appease them and take him to the clinic and derail the rest of my work day? Today I went against my intuition and derailed my day... I quickly made an appointment for him, got someone else to chair the meeting and shifted my 1pm meeting to 3pm.  So we go to the clinic and are in and out within 15 minutes.  They told me that he may or may not have a viral infection in his eyes from his cold.  Moms - you know how it goes... kids wipe their nose and then their eyes and things spread.  Needless to say, there really wasn't anything wrong with him.  The Dr. prescribed some eye drops and said things will clear up in a few days and that he is fine to go back to daycare.  So I ignored my intuition and derailed my day...

So here it is ladies (and gentlemen),  Tip #1 to Help Juggle Work and Kids: Use your intuition! You know your child better than anyone else.  If you think there is nothing wrong - than there probably isn't anything wrong. Save yourself the agony and inconvenience of rearranging your day when you know nothing is wrong.  Listen to yourself - more times that not you will find that you are right!

Life is a Journey...

Here goes nothing!...  I had never thought of starting a blog before, but my good friend who writes Vacuuming in Pearls got me thinking that maybe, just maybe I have some wisdom to share with the world... if not wisdom, at least a good laugh once in awhile! This blog will share with you the many ups and downs of motherhood, marriage, working, and life in general.

To start things out, I would like to introduce myself. My name is B.  I am a wife, mother, student, and a working professional.  My husband and I have been married almost 9 years and after 8 years of marriage, we decided to expand our family and welcomed our baby boy into the world last July.  I am also a graduate student.  I have been slowly working on obtaining a Master's Degree for the past 4 years.  Lastly, I am a full-time working professional.  Needless to say I have a very busy life, thus the reasoning behind my self-imposed title as "The Modern Day Juggler".  Most days I feel like I am a juggler.  You all know the image of the circus performer who is attempting to do the impossible, while still maintaining their poise to the audience. All the while, the juggler may be ready to crack under the pressure, but some how keeps everything together. Yup, that's me!

Since this is my first post, I am going to set a few ground rules for myself.  These rules will not only help guide my writings, but they will help to protect the sanity of those of you who read this...  First things first, although I am blogging as a sort of therapy for myself I am not planning on using this form of media to vent and/or complain about my life.  I do plan on sharing some of the not-so-fun realities that go along with being a very busy working-mom, but it is not intended to be a pity party. Secondly, I am going to attempt to share some of my tips and tricks on making things work when your life is super chaotic. Lastly, I am going to write about my life, my family, and things that I love. Some days you might hear about my favorite new recipe, or how I hate to clean the bathtub.  Other days it might be all about my baby boy and how fast he is growing up.   Ultimately, this is a journey that we are all taking together and its bound to be an interesting one.

I hope you check back periodically and enjoy the ride!