Taking a step back

I'm in a great place right now. Many of my 'someday' goals are becoming a reality. The catch (cause there always is one, isn't there?) is that I really do mean many of my goals, all at once. Opportunities, they have come at me. Falling into my lap. Calling me on the phone. Peaking from behind stacks of paper and waving ghost-like from Word docs.

Some of these goals were things I planned on doing later, as in, after babies. But I've always had a hard time saying no, and when one of your long-term goals sashays in, sits on your lap, and slips its number down your cleavage, what's a girl to do?

I had written out all the details. Suddenly finding myself being over committed when I still want need my focus to be on my baby. Dealing with a lot of stress. Being short on time and patience and knowing that I was the one responsible for all of it. Blah blah blah.

I wrote it all out, read back through it and asked myself, "Self, what, amongst what you wrote, is interesting to anyone but you?"* The answer was not a lot. Yay for the delete button.

*Note: I like to talk to myself all old-timey and sh*t. Doth I sound like a woebegone British rapper, b*tches? Pray tell.

Now that I've wrote out and erased my angst, I'm feeling much better. I think I've gained a bit of perspective. When I step back, I realize that I may be busy, but I am extremely fortunate.

At no previous point in history would I have the options I have today. The enormous strides toward gender equality that have occurred in the past few generations, the amazing leaps in technology, and the gradual awareness our society has gained around the need for flexibility and family-friendly policy have allowed me to do the previously unimaginable: I can continue my career while spending the majority of my time with my child.

I know that many of you don't have the same options/flexibility that I do. That sucks. But it's getting better all the time. And once someone gets on that whole teleporter thing, we'll all be golden.

Until then, I hope you can delete your own angst, take a step back, and see how privileged you are. After all, you're on the internet with enough time that you're squandering it reading my blog. Things can't be that bad, am I right?