After a 17-year hiatus from the Hudson Valley Parent editor’s desk, I’m back!
The last time I wrote from this space, my son was just starting school and I was busily trying to figuring out how to balance family life with a demanding career.
Today, he’s in his final semester of college (actually prepping to flip his tassel in a few months!) – and I’m still trying to figuring out how to balance family life and career.
You think after all the years of practice, I’d have it down by now, right? Ummm…not quite.
I remember a plan I thought up when I was pregnant that entailed buying organic fruits and veggies in order to make my own baby food. By the time my son was actually ready to eat solid food, it became quite clear that I could not stick to that plan and actually, you know, have a life that involved leaving the house. On to Plan B.
Here’s what the last dozen years of parenthood have taught me: being a mom is all about the ebb and flow. Some days you’re high above the wave enjoying the ride and other days you just try to stay afloat. When the plans you have on paper don’t quite match the finished product, you have to just roll with it and hope for the best. It sometimes feels like a huge game of “trial and error” – and often, it is.
Because this adventure doesn’t come with any instructions, we parents have to find them however we can. Rest assured that the little humans you share your home with will eventually grow up, move out and come back to you for your expertise with their own little humans someday. The student will, at last, become the teacher.
At least that’s what they tell me, anyway.