As I walked my son down to school today for the first time after the holidays I enjoyed the fact that he held my hand; and I had a wry smile at the fact that this was the first time that he wasn’t sure whether to give me a hug in the school yard! My feelings were mixed about other things too – the holidays seem to go so quickly, and it’s sad to leave those days of relaxed routine behind again. But a part of me was also ready for “life” to begin again. I found myself chatting to a friend, and telling her how much I was looking forward to getting back outside with the wood. This was a good moment. I re-phrased the statement for myself – I was looking forward to going back to work! This is very different from my previous experience of being employed. Then, I tended to dread getting back into the routine, and finding out what disasters had happened in my absence, and were awaiting my return. Now a part of me is eager for school to restart so that I can get back to doing the crafts that I love, and indulging my creative side.
A lightbulb went on in my mind: A while ago I was chatting to an older woman, whose children were all grown up. She sounded like she’d had an ideal life – she had been a textile artist; she kept sheep, processed the wool, and used it to make felted creations. But she told me that she wished she hadn’t been doing that while her children were growing up – it had made her selfish, and not a “good” mother. At the time she said this, I didn’t really comprehend what she meant… now I was starting to understand!
It is hard to focus on other people’s needs when your creative juices are flowing, and there are new ideas to try out, or projects to finish. It is hard to be understanding when you think you have a window of time to fit something into, and then it evaporates in an instant of fallen through arrangements. It is hard to be patient when an afternoon of creativity is hijacked by the need to stop your son from cutting his fingers off.
But there’s no doubt that I know how lucky I am to be doing a job that I love so much I want to do more of it. I suppose the challenge is to make sure that this doesn’t make me less good at the other parts of my life. In fact, the challenge is to make sure that this contentment makes me better able to excel at the other parts of my life. So my “Back to School” challenge is to find ways to balance all the demands on my time and energy. I’m going to teach my son that all sorts of good things can be fitted into life; that it’s just a matter of carving out the time to do what you want to do, and what you need to do. Time management is an essential skill in any job!
Another thing that I hope to be able to teach my son is that it’s a great thing to have a job that you love. And that Confucius was right… “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.
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