I said in my last blog that there wouldn’t be any more blogs as they relate to the month of love & friendship, but I wanted to post one last blog that relates to Love the One You’re With. This one isn’t about romantic love; it’s about loving your family.
On Friday, I witnessed the worst accident I’ve ever seen while I was en route to drop off the boys at pre-school. On the video, my car is the Acadia front and center. You can see that the dump truck comes flying by and is less than a foot away from our car. After flying through the intersection and hitting a few cars, the dump truck disappeared down a small hill/cliff next to a bridge and started to smoke before eventually erupting into flames. It could have been BAD. People could have died. Several people could have died. Miraculously, no one did. People were hurt and EMS took people away on stretchers, but they were OK.
It made my mind start swirling. What if I had been a few inches to the right. What if the dump truck driver had swerved a few inches to the left. What if I had been turning right instead of left. It’s horrible to think what could have happened. And all of this “what if” thinking led me to start thinking again about why I work part-time.
I love spending time with my boys. I love their smiles and their laughs. I love watching them try new things or simply play on the playground. I know moms can relate to loving those happy moments. I want to be around for those fun moments. They want me around for those fun moments (at least for now, they do). It’s fun to do weekly activities like take our younger son to mommy and me gymnastics and music class. I have loved watching him develop new skills and be more independent in those activities over time. I love watching him becoming more confident in his new abilities and feeling proud about accomplishments in class. While our younger son naps, I love having a moment with our older son while he draws an elaborate picture with a whole story behind it or we play or build Legos. This is why I wanted to part-time. I simply didn’t want to miss these moments.
As hard as it is to admit, I would give up working if my family, especially our young boys, really needed me to. With moments like the one on Friday, I wonder why I don’t become a SAHM and focus all my energy on them. It’s sometimes hard to admit that I also like time away from my children…to work, to do research for the Mompowerment book, to have a moment of me-time to exercise, or to do household errands by myself. In particular, I really appreciate the professional opportunities and how I can work the other side of my brain. I need that balance to stay content and feel fulfilled and accomplished in my own right. I’m incredibly thankful that I don’t have to give up my professional interests.
For now, I will hug my boys tighter. I will try to keep my cool, even in rough moments. After all, life with kids isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. And, I will remember that having options lets me hug them tight for longer moments on any given day and I’m extra thankful for that.
Love the ones you’re with – each day can be a gift, even when the day really sucks.
