Having it All
"Everything in moderation, including moderation." ~Author Unknown
I distinctly remember watching Oprah before my oldest child turned 3 and having her look straight at the camera, directly at me, and say, "You CAN have it all, just not all at once." These words of wisdom have since repeated in my head weekly if not daily. I'm an energetic, driven and motivated woman. I've always believed I could change the world. The older I get, the more I realize that I can have all of my dreams come true if I'm willing to balance my life and accept moderation in other areas.
When I was in college over two decades ago, staying up late to complete a project was torture and never worked out well. I wasn't the library type, I wasn't the planner type, I wasn't the get my work done ahead of time type. Those late night "Hail Mary's" to finish work hurt, physically hurt. I'm back in college now getting my master's degree and last night I found myself finishing a paper in the 11th hour. It definitely wasn't my best work and I'm not looking forward to the grade that I will receive, but my paper was complete and met all of the requirements that were set for it and it was turned in on time. It is halfway through the completion of my degree and this is my first transgression into mediocrity.
Oprah told me I could have it all; the storybook marriage, the beautiful family, the athletic and fit life, the perfect tidy home, the world renowned cupcakes, the nurtured garden, the hobbies that feed my soul, the volunteer work that serves my community, the incredibly successful career, the continued lifelong learning, the authorship, the serenity ~ she was clear that it would have to be in waves.
My waves lately have been worth riding. This weekend, when I could have been writing that paper, I dedicated two days to sewing a colonial dress from scratch with our ten year old daughter. It lays on the table, a beautiful testimony to time invested, waiting for the zipper which I'll sew today. No doubt, when she wears it to dance the minuet on Thursday, my paper will be the farthest thing from my mind. Yesterday, when I could have whipped up that paper in a few hours, I chose to attend a baseball game with our teenaged son. Three hours of uninterrupted chatter and laughter and silence, sitting next to my hunk of a baby boy; countless discussions with the ticket holders around us about how this young man couldn't possibly be mine; the glorious feeling of doing the wave in the crowd next to a person I'm so incredibly proud of made my paper seem not too significant.
The storybook marriage? it's at 95%, with us striving for those last 5. The beautiful family? Most days. The athletic and fit life? ahhh, hit and miss. The perfect tidy home? sort of but only because of hired help. The world renowned cupcakes and nurtured garden? Contracted out. The hobbies that feed my soul? who needs em? Everything else is almost here or on the list for the coming year.
The promise of having it all at some point, and having what I have for now is a blessing for me. The way I see it ,these waves are worth riding and watching for. It's a good thing.
I distinctly remember watching Oprah before my oldest child turned 3 and having her look straight at the camera, directly at me, and say, "You CAN have it all, just not all at once." These words of wisdom have since repeated in my head weekly if not daily. I'm an energetic, driven and motivated woman. I've always believed I could change the world. The older I get, the more I realize that I can have all of my dreams come true if I'm willing to balance my life and accept moderation in other areas.
When I was in college over two decades ago, staying up late to complete a project was torture and never worked out well. I wasn't the library type, I wasn't the planner type, I wasn't the get my work done ahead of time type. Those late night "Hail Mary's" to finish work hurt, physically hurt. I'm back in college now getting my master's degree and last night I found myself finishing a paper in the 11th hour. It definitely wasn't my best work and I'm not looking forward to the grade that I will receive, but my paper was complete and met all of the requirements that were set for it and it was turned in on time. It is halfway through the completion of my degree and this is my first transgression into mediocrity.
Oprah told me I could have it all; the storybook marriage, the beautiful family, the athletic and fit life, the perfect tidy home, the world renowned cupcakes, the nurtured garden, the hobbies that feed my soul, the volunteer work that serves my community, the incredibly successful career, the continued lifelong learning, the authorship, the serenity ~ she was clear that it would have to be in waves.
My waves lately have been worth riding. This weekend, when I could have been writing that paper, I dedicated two days to sewing a colonial dress from scratch with our ten year old daughter. It lays on the table, a beautiful testimony to time invested, waiting for the zipper which I'll sew today. No doubt, when she wears it to dance the minuet on Thursday, my paper will be the farthest thing from my mind. Yesterday, when I could have whipped up that paper in a few hours, I chose to attend a baseball game with our teenaged son. Three hours of uninterrupted chatter and laughter and silence, sitting next to my hunk of a baby boy; countless discussions with the ticket holders around us about how this young man couldn't possibly be mine; the glorious feeling of doing the wave in the crowd next to a person I'm so incredibly proud of made my paper seem not too significant.
The storybook marriage? it's at 95%, with us striving for those last 5. The beautiful family? Most days. The athletic and fit life? ahhh, hit and miss. The perfect tidy home? sort of but only because of hired help. The world renowned cupcakes and nurtured garden? Contracted out. The hobbies that feed my soul? who needs em? Everything else is almost here or on the list for the coming year.
The promise of having it all at some point, and having what I have for now is a blessing for me. The way I see it ,these waves are worth riding and watching for. It's a good thing.
Comments