A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

on
Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
0

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

on

That Beach Life...

There's a legendary 1964 classic soul song call "My Girl" by The Temptations. It says, "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day."  I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While Pittsburgh isn't the tundra, it isn't exactly tropical either. Pittsburgh gets winter for real. Indeed, today, it is snowy, and the temperature is about thirty degrees. So, I have to dig deep for inspiration--like in the Temptations song!

And even though I grew up in Rochester, New York where the winters are hard and the snow can be steep, living in North Carolina for a decade and that experience softened me. Now I understand that "winter" can mean blue skies and temperate weather as opposed to gray skies and cold weather. 

For that reason, in the winter, I often reflect on my summer vacations when the living was easy, the weather was warm, and I got to pretend like I didn't have a care in the world! Seriously, looking at beach photos like this makes the Pittsburgh winters easier to take!

Comments

Post a Comment