With Every Can’t, There’s a Can

The last few weeks, as I’ve mentioned, have been difficult. I’m tired. My body is worn out in preparing for this new baby boy to arrive in the next few weeks. Work is wrapping up and everything on that end is coming to a close. I’m scared and nervous and excited and anxious all at the same time about all of the things that are to come.

I’ve been down and out on myself and all of my attempts to do everything and my lack of ability to balance things. Being a working mother is hard. Heck, being a mother period is hard. But throwing in the necessities and requirements of running a business or working for someone else seems to make things that much more difficult.

Over the past week or two, however, I’ve started to see a change in my mentality.

True, I may not be able to manage every single thing going on. I may not be able to juggle every plate that I’m trying to hold up. I may not be able to keep a hand on all of the things that are going on.

But for every single thing that I can’t do, there are at least 10 things that I can.

Sure, I can’t maintain the same workload that I was maintaining a few months ago (a minimum of five custom design projects per month). But, I can still run my business and work with fantastic clients…just on a smaller scale.

I may not be able to do a full on homeschool program with my biggest boy five days a week like I want to. But, I can sing the ABC song, teach him to play alphabet games on our iPads, and encourage his letter and number development through daily games and activities around our house.

I may not be able to fix made from scratch meals and create Pinterest worthy recipes every single night. But, I can cook a mean pot of homemade chicken and dumplings and help my husband in the kitchen when he volunteers to cook.

I may not have a house that is in line to be on HGTv. I may not be the craftiest person in the world and my house may mostly be made up of decor purchased from Target and Walmart, rather than Pottery Barn. But, I can make paper countdown chains to adorn my biggest boys bedroom; I can hang art work painted by our four year old Picasso on the empty walls in our living room. And I can capture the moments around me with the camera I’m fortunate enough to own.

I may not do a lot of things that other wives and mothers and homemakers swear that I should be doing.

Because balance is hard. Taking care of my clients and taking care of my family simultaneously is exhausting.

But, I can teach my son that hard work pays off; that you can do anything in the world that you set your mind to. I can teach him that sometimes, we do have to make sacrifices to achieve our goals, but that it doesn’t mean we care for our families or love our children any less.

I can teach him that every ounce of time I pour into my business and building up my brand, is done with him and his brother in mind. Done to show him that no dream is too small; no ambition too big.

And those things?

Those lessons mean more than any home cooked meal or hand crafted wall art.

Any day.

Don’t forget that I’m giving away a $60 Gift Certificate to Shaded Studio’s! Good for a fabulous set of Photoshop/Photoshop Elements Actions!