Having It All

Like my profile says, I really do believe in having it all. I blame this on two things: Sesame Street and (to a much larger extent) the simply awesome female role models I had growing up. My Mother is an incredibly accomplished woman who set an example for my brother and me by being a loving and supportive Mom while also pursuing her dream of teaching and eventually earning her PhD. My Father’s Mother and her sister both had master’s degrees at a time when most women didn’t finish the eighth grade (and one of those masters was in Physics). My Grandmother on my Mom’s side is truly my hero in life. I doubt I will ever be able to live up to her example, but I intend to keep trying.

So I’ve never been afraid to pursue my ambitions. I knew I could be a great Mom and still pursue other dreams outside the home. After all, that’s the good example that I was raised with. And I’ve gone on to enjoy a fantastic career. I’m currently at the best company I’ve had the privilege of being a part of where I get to work with brilliant people on exciting projects that really do change lives. I doubt that many people in the “corporate world” can say that reading customer testimonials brings tears to their eyes and yet I have had that happen on many occasions in my work (in fact, it happened yesterday). I’m truly blessed – not just with my career but with a loving and supportive spouse who has made pursuing my dreams possible.

There are times, however, when I think – gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to be home full time? This particular phenomenon has intensified since living at the farm. The farm is just so lovely that it’s hard not to want to be there all the time. I also imagine all the cool projects I would be doing… Picture a Martha Stewart meets Snow White (okay, more like Tinkerbell) kind of character magically flitting about with a trail of faithful animals behind her restoring hard wood floors, gardening, finding just the right antique chair for that corner all while creating masterful meals for her family and having plenty of personal time to sit on the porch reading or just enjoying the view while I contemplate my awesomeness...sigh. (I’m sure all my amazing girlfriends who work full time raising children and creating a home are probably laughing so hard now that they have tears running down their face)

And then I think (with just a twinge of resentment), this must be what it’s like for Dan (who is home now that the tax season has ended)… Now, this train of thought normally occurs on Mondays. After all, who doesn’t want the weekend to never end? And of course Dan’s week must be just like our weekends – filled with fun projects and down time together, right? But for some reason, this train of thought happened yesterday (a Tuesday) as I was just about to give Dan a call before leaving for home (as I typically do)…

Me: “So how was your day?”
Dan: “Well, I started working on the fencing for the garden, but then Gabe called because he forgot something he needed for school and I had to run it up to him. Then I wanted to trim a tree so I drove the farm truck over to the back corner of the paddock and then discovered that the ladder wasn’t high enough. Also the truck died there on the spot and I had to find a way to jump it. I managed to use the ladder anyway to trim the tree and ended up cutting my thumb. That’s when I went inside for lunch. After lunch I realized that I had to run to Wal-Mart because we were out of a few essentials. After that it was time to pick up the kids from school and I discovered that Gabe was having a friend over. Oh and dinner is lamb."

To which I humbly replied, “Never mind...”

By the way, after recovering from a massive fit of laughter brought on by reading this, Dan reminded me that despite the fact that I am passionate about my career, I also do take the time to cook masterful meals on the weekends and find just the right things to make our house a beautiful home.

What a guy…I guess I do, truly, have it all.