Carlos and I had a pretty amazing summer. We spent tons of quality time together. There were lots of get togethers with friends. We were outdoors a lot. We talked and played. We also both read the first Harry Potter book. Carlos finished before me and kept trying to spoil the ending!!
However, I have been working a ridiculously insane schedule to cover holes in the schedule and my husband’s has had to work longer hours since August. Unlike summers before I simply couldn’t do it all and something had to give. I already mentioned that training for a race was nearly impossible and even my regular level of fitness was interrupted. I did the absolute best I could with what little free time I had. I started working out at home more and introduced new things to my workout routine like push ups, kettle bell swings and squats.
The other thing I did was put away my electronics as often as possible. I didn’t want Carlos on his electronics so I tried to set a better example. I admit it…I like love my iPhone and my iPad. This summer I barely blogged, took Facebook breaks for days at a time (I don’t have a huge presence there anyway) and essentially tried not to be attached to a device. I realize that time is of the essence with Carlos. He’s 7 now and still loves hanging around with me, but I know those days don’t last forever.
I really enjoyed the summer, but inside I felt very unbalanced and by the last week of school vacation I felt like I was burning the candle at both ends. I put a lot of effort into parenting this summer, but failed to nurture my marriage or myself. Even my house suffered a bit of neglect. I don’t even want to talk about sleep, or lack thereof. I know that some things need to change before next summer rolls around. I cherish my time with Carlos, but I need to find a better balance between work and home life.
On a positive note, I did learn to let go of a few of my hangups this summer. I learned to let some housework go in exchange for a morning walk or jog with Carlos. I let my list of “things to do” grow and grow if it meant meeting friends out at the park. I learned to tackle only the priorities. I think my mantra of this summer was “it will get done -eventually.”
I saw this video for the first time yesterday and thought it was a simple way of making a very important statement.
Aim 
I’m very much that way about most housework. I will let some things slide in favor of whatever I prioritize, but there are a few basics (roughly making the bed, weekly laundry) that I do very regularly. There are some nights we eat at home and don’t even wipe down the countertops if there’s no apparent mess, we’ve just both decided it’s “clean enough” and not worth sacrificing sleep, time together, whatever in favor of more cleaning. Sorry you lost your balance over the summer, but you’ll get it back, and what an amazing way to savor the time and memories with Carlos.
I have to make the beds every day! Laundry is one of those things I don’t mind doing so it gets done almost every day if needed. It was really good for me to let go a little though.
It is so amazing that you had a great summer with Carlos…like you said, this time will go by fast. But feeling unbalanced is never good…it’s so difficult to feel like every area of our lives get what we want them to have. Focusing on the priorities is a help. But hopefully by next summer you will be able to give some time to you and Orlando too…you both deserve it!