Thanksgiving Day 2014
I've been thinking a lot lately about the two different times zones that I live in: Elise Standard Time and Ellerie Standard Time.
Every day for sure and sometimes many times throughout each day I shuffle back and forth between the two. Recognizing (and celebrating!) their differences is how I have figured out how to make "this" - being a Mama and business owner - work for me.
Elise time (business time) is all about order and efficency. Give me a list of things and I'll work through them. My objective (which has worked well for me so far) is to crank through what I know so I can experiment with what I don't. I'm really good at managing Elise Standard Time. I've been doing it for years.
Ellerie time (mama time) is all about...I have no word for it. Mostly, it's about coming up with activities. Watercolor or the zoo or all the errands. Or reading books. Or watching Elmo. Or going outside. Or moving the sand around. Or making dough. Or playing music. Or waving at the birds. Or climbing up and down on to the rocking chair/stroller/stool/coffee table/umbrella stand. (All of these things take about two hours total and then we repeat.) It's simultaneously hectic and boring. It's both amazing and exhausting. I'm not nearly as good at managing Ellerie Standard Time. What it demands of me is constantly changing.
I have learned that the key to saving my sanity is differentiating between these two time zones and accepting how they each work. Activities look different depending on what zone I'm in. When I empty the dishwasher on Elise time it's like a military drill. When Ellerie and I empty the dishwasher together on Ellerie time, it's like getting 25 clowns into a matchbox car with our eyes closed. But here's the key part: in both cases, the dishes get put away and everyone is happy about it. Elise time is never going to involve a clown car and Ellerie time might never be drill like (and that's totally okay).
I have learned that I can't keep my business functioning and growing while operating on Ellerie time. And I'm not a great mama on full-speed-ahead Elise time. (And that also is totally okay.)
My goal these days (and they really are the days) is not "balance" or "keeping all the balls in the air." It's so much more simple than that.
My goal these days is to set and reset my watch.
