As an at-home mom (a mom at all), I invest in someone besides myself. There is a little tiny person who needs my attention, love, creativity, patience, kindness and arms. My dear son is so  high energy, so fearless, so sweetly demanding of all that I am.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

We waited years for this little fireball boy to turn our lives upside down, and he has delivered =) I wish I could convey to you how ultimately, completely, totally and utterly lifechanging a child is – at least, that’s how it’s been for us – but there isn’t a good way to do that. It’s like every single minute of the day is entirely different than it was before December 15, 2011. The seconds between 2:46 and 2:47 am on 12/15 held more than a minute; they held each final tick of an old life turned new. Nothing – hear me. NOTHING. – was the same after that final clocks movement. With this new life came a chief new investment – my son. I pour my whole life, day, heart into his. And sweet and difficult as that continual pouring out is, I feel like it’s left me with little heart, time and emotion to invest elsewhere.

There are so many other people I love, and I’m wondering if they know how dear they are to me these days. My day starts in the 6am hour, The Boy rises before 8, and then I am with him (really with him, you know?) until bedtime, when I trade in toys for the laptop and work. That means phone calls to friends are few & far between. Date nights with Husby are precious commodities. And time for me – not doing things for the family, just doing things for me – are pretty much limited to doctor visits.

The other day I had a thought. I am a crappy friend. I don’t readily make phone calls, and I never just drop in on friends. Whatever happened to just stopping by?! When a day has some gaps in it and I could have a playdate at the zoo, I have to cram some work in instead.  There are dear family members who haven’t heard from me in months. We send out a Christmas card and letter, and like posts on Facebook, and we may even send a text. But a phone call or Skype session or actual visit? Time spent with my husband playing a game of Scrabble, snuggling fireside, even having a dinner or movie out – none of these things have happened in months. And the last time I got a massage or pedicure was when I was pregnant.

In investing only in one {albeit HUGE} chunk of my life, the others are all out of whack. It’s like food: if you only eat fruit, delicious as it is, you fall short in other nutritional areas. I’m not saying mothering my Boy is fluffy, or unimportant, or even not enough for my delight. BUT I am saying that I feel some parts of my life are lacking. I need to, for my sanity, start trying harder, make different choices, take risks. I need to learn how to stretch the hours of my day even further than they already are to include phone calls, planned visits, and maybe a mani/pedi because I am drowning a little bit without them.

It’s time to re-allocate some of my investments.

Not that I know how to do that yet, but isn’t that what making an investment does?

It’s stretching and sacrificial and, if you’re careful, it pays off.

-anna
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