Thursday, July 19, 2007

Balancing Act

I used to be really terrible at managing my money. Until I developed my recipe card system, I would occasionally screw up & miss something obvious, & end up behind on something. And my budget was tight enough that one missed payment in one month would screw everything up for the next quarter, I swear. I would castigate myself thoroughly, feel like I was never going to accomplish anything, and tell myself that I was an inept fool. The only way I could get out of that particular funk would be to vow not to let it happen again, & then go & clean my house. The recipe card system has worked quite well for me; haven't had any problems in years & years!
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Until we went on vacation... I've been on mat leave for four months or so now, & the days, well. I'm usually sure what day of the week it is - that way we know how close to the weekend & increased Daddy-Time! we are. The number of the day? Well. I'll check in on that every so often, but really, it isn't that important. Amoryn is sublimely unconcerned with whether it's the 14th or the 23rd.
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So, I lost track of dates, & one payment went a little wonky (but it's fine now! Really!). I fixed it, felt all crappy, and thought "I can't even clean because Am is sleeping." I was beginning to think the same old mantra of self-loathing. I looked down at Amoryn sleeping in my arms, and I forgave myself.
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Because really, I'm doing my most important job well. Amoryn is thriving. The weeds can get big, & the payments can get wonky*, and until Am can crawl, the vacuuming** can go hang. I've got smaller things to thing about.

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(Want to see more? Here's the Flickr link again
I need to figure out how to reinsert the link on the sidebar.)
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*-but not often! NO! Just this once, I'm giving myself a pass.
**- Until then, vacuuming once a week, with frequent sweeping, shall suffice.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well written article.