Photographs are necessary especially on holidays when life becomes a blur. |
Did you ever wish there could be two of you? When I was attending college for ten of my
children’s growing up years, I wished I could have been a traditional college
student. Then another part of me wanted
to be that full-time mother of five children.
Obviously, I couldn’t become
two separate people. So I needed to do
the second best thing and perform both tasks as one person.
Many people, especially
women, wish they could be more than just one person in order to do all the
things and tasks that they feel need to be accomplished in life.
There’s the key.
People “feel”
that these tasks need to be accomplished.
Most certainly we have time-sensitive tasks that truly need to be
accomplished. Business and school
projects have firm dates. Novelists,
book publishers have deadlines; essayists, content writers, and short story
writers have deadlines. The list is
endless.
In the
beginning of my college career, I truly needed to return home before my
children. There was no one else to watch
five children—let alone feed them. I don’t
know about you, but my angels came home starving after school. You’d think they never ate breakfast or
lunch. I couldn’t attend activity meetings
or study groups or join events during that time. I needed to be a mother.
Other
deadlines can be made malleable.
Prioritizing
became a way of life. I tried to disrupt
my children’s schedules, in the beginning of my college journey, as little as
possible. This was especially important
for my oldest daughter who is special needs.
Re-teaching her always rested on my shoulders. She was in eighth grade at that time; the
twins, in second grade.
The two H’s were at the
top of the list: health and homework,
there’s and mine. Still, by Christmas
break, I had the flu…each of the ten years attending college. The children were fine. It was just I, the college student/Mom who
wanted to crawl into my room and let Christmas happen on its own. But it doesn’t work that way in families with
young children. Many times, it falls to
the mother to make holidays happen. Yes,
I cut down on the baking. Yes, I tried
to delegate, but there was only my husband, at the time, to delegate to. Hence, some things got accomplished; others
did not.
Attending college when
you have a family, sometimes things need to change. They did for me; however, I made these
transitions slowly, both for the children and for me. Understanding which tasks truly need to be
accomplished now and which can wait, prioritizing your work load. These are some mindsets to help a parent get
through college. How have you mastered
the times in your life when you wished you were more than one person?
always enjoy your stories
ReplyDeleteYou are the best, Marie. Thanks so much for stopping by my Adventures in Writing blog. Enjoy this beautiful weather!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it wasn't easy. Do many days I wish I didn't have to work full time. I want to devote my time to cooking, writing, spending time with my kids, and studying for my night class.
ReplyDeleteI know I've said this before, Theresa. I don't know how you accomplish everything. You are a remarkable woman. What is your night class this time? Good luck with everything. Thanks for stopping by my Adventures in Writing blog.
DeleteHi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteI love visiting here and reading your posts.
Thank you so much, Nas, for visiting my Adventures in Writing blog. It is appreciated more than you know. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteI haven't mastered time management yet, but prioritizing is definitely the trick. I'm impressed by what you achieved.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Lynda, for visiting my Adventures in Writing blog. Yes, time management is the key, although it is very difficult to maintain from day to day. Thanks again for your encouragement.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep things written down with the most important things either starred or highlighted. Checklists work for me because I love checking off what is already completed. It makes me feel accomplished! I agree with Lynda. You have achieved a lot. I'm impressed.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Michelle, for visiting my Adventures in Writing blog. Check lists are a great idea to keep track of obligations and tasks and definitely can make you feel as though you are moving forward in life. I kept a list of courses to be able to show myself how I was in fact moving through my college education.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reading Adventures in Writing.
Just dropping by to say 'Hi!'
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Nas, for dropping by. It is truly appreciated. I hope all is well. I have an interview coming this month of a small press author and her new book that I hope everyone will enjoy. See you then!
ReplyDelete