Balancing the PTA with the PTA’int

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We struggle to say no. The PTA calls, needing twelve dozen cookies, tomorrow, and do we even hesitate?  Of course not.  We don’t want to be judged as inadequate.  We will do what we have to do, even if we have to bake oatmeal raisin cookies at four in the morning, to get them to the PTA on time.

We work, we work at home, we struggle with deadlines as they whiz by, and we wonder if we can find balance between the school meetings and the office meetings. We lose ourselves in the daily rush of mediocrity.
How do we juggle our responsibilities, and still maintain some semblance of normalcy? How do we keep our hopes and dreams from getting buried?

Here are some suggestions:
1. Keep a journal. Whether it is a photo journal, a diary, a sketchbook, whatever your secret talent, take a few moments a day to recover your creativity.

2. Remember to breathe. In the moments of the most stress, practice deep-breathing techniques. They’ll help you focus, and help you keep your calm.

3. Practice saying ‘no.’  remember that no one expects you to be Super Woman.  It’s perfectly understandable if you can’t make those cookies, after all.

4. Take time for yourself.  Schedule yourself a day at the spa, or a haircut, or a simple trip to the bookstore.  Spend some time with just yourself, and concentrate on rejuvenation.  Do what relaxes you most.  There is no right an wrong here, only what you need.

5. Spend time with just your significant other.  No kids, if you have them, no dogs, no bosses.  Just the two of you.  Take time to reconnect to one another; find out why you fell in love in the first place.  6. Back away from the laundry.  Who cares if there’s a mountain of laundry that needs doing!?  Take that time periodically to spend time with your family or your best buddies.  Laundry will never make you laugh like your children or your girlfriends will.

Filed Under: General, Society Tagged With: , ,

A Modern-Day Rosie the Riveter: The Single Mom to the Rescue

January 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is a segment of society that often goes unrecognized and unthanked.  There are women, who manage to balance not only work and children, and deal with absent fathers, to boot.  The single mother is a force, a whirlwind, who makes her way in a world that frowns upon her.

She is an amazing woman, for being able to balance everything without losing her sanity, for being able to give of herself, without losing herself in the mix.  She is a powerhouse, the driving force of her family.

And so frequently, she goes unnoticed.

It’s a shame, really, that society does not recognize the powerful woman she is.  She is tireless, often working horrific hours at a thankless job, desperately trying to make ends meet.  She rushes from hither to yon, to try and make it to both her PTA meeting and her office party, worrying about where her children are and whether or not they’re safe, fed, and not in trouble.

Her job as mother and father is not an easy one.  She must bear the disciplinary brunt of raising her children on her own, without backing down, and without back-up.  She must be the one who paddles a bottom when it’s needed, and bandaid a bruised knee, who must teach her son to play football and her daughter to play flute, and she must do so without losing her cool.

She hits the playing field running, not hesitating to say “I can do this!” She is the modern-day super-hero, wearing humble clothes by day, and cape and spandex by night.

The single mother deserves not only respect, but humble admiration, as well.  She deserves a round of applause, for being able to conquer six impossible tasks before breakfast, and all with aplomb.  She needs to be thanked for providing a role model for her children, for showing them that they can do the impossible, and that they can achieve their dreams even in the most dire of circumstances.

Filed Under: Politics, Society Tagged With: , , ,