Creative Moments: Getting The Balance Right

Sunday, 29 April 2007

Getting The Balance Right

"New Mum On The Block "
Nelson District Parent Centre Newsletter March/April 2006

As a singleton in the work force, I used to recommend that coworkers not talk to me before 10am because I simply wasn't a morning person. After a sausage roll and a cup of tea loaded with sugar, I was normally able to string a few words together at morning tea time. However I learnt quite early in the piece that with motherhood there just isn't that guaranteed quiet cup of tea in the morning. So a walk first thing in the morning with Amelia in her buggy is the time where I get my personal space to revive and start the day fresh. I also spend a few quiet minutes journaling every night as a way of letting go of the day positively.
I divide my time in three ways - me time, us (husband and wife) time and our (the whole family) time. If one of these areas isn't given the attention it needs; the other areas will undoubtedly be affected.

Nurturing me time is essential to my sanity and my family's. Just ask my husband. If I don't get enough exercise, alone time or space to nurture my creativity - I'm a grump. I work two nights a week. Mingling with other staff reminds me that I am more than a mum. Even though most nights the other mums and I end up talking about kids. And child birth. Much to the horror of the only male occasionally rostered on night shift.

Us time is still a work-in-progress with hubby and I. We have family meals together, go for walks in the weekend and catch the occasional movie when Nana is in town. At eleven months Amelia isn't a threat to conversation but as she's on the brink of toddlerhood; that will change. Soon us time will need to be rethought.
Our time is simply spending time together as a family whether it be hanging out at home, at the park or at the beach.

We've just got back from a family trip to Sydney. Even within a holiday it was a matter of finding the right balance so that the whole family could have a good time. We managed to attend a wedding, hang out with extended family, catch up with friends as well as have some family time and us time. Every morning I went for a walk with Amelia so I got in my me time. Nana looked after Amelia while we were at the wedding and reception so hubby and I had our first evening out together in at least a year! It was like a date that we needed - nothing like a few eighties classics to dust off the dancing cobwebs.

Getting the balance right for us was a matter of prioritising our family values. The house and material possessions will always be out there. But the first few precious years of Amelia's life won't be. Sure I could have probably managed more hours in the workforce to get us to our financial goals a little faster but at what price? To miss out on this amazing first year that has unfolded before my eyes. It was a family decision that I work just casually in the first few years of Amelia's life. Even me working eight hours a week puts a bit of a strain on family life as it means hubby is looking after Amelia two nights a week on top of working fulltime and sometimes overtime. But it works for us. We just have enough time to smell the roses. And that's what's important to us.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About me

I'm Lynda. I was born and bred in Wellington, New Zealand, and in my late primary school years submitted short stories, book reviews and cartoons on a regular basis to KidStuff - a page exclusively for children's writing and artwork in Saturday's edition of The Evening Post.

My writing and art was somewhat squelched during high school, although I chewed through many books and cartooned frequently.

I spent my years as a twenty-something exploring new horizons with travel and gaining a tertiary education. I have a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Education, which was completed at both Massey and Victoria Universities. I've lived short-term in both Sydney and Melbourne and completed several OEs which have taken me to the UK, the USA, a fraction of Europe and to Egypt and Israel. My longest overseas experience was a total of almost three years where I nannied in Vancouver , Canada and worked for two Summers in a children's camp in Pennsylvania, USA.

Variety is the spice of life could well be my personal work motto! I've worked on the ski-fields as a lifte in Queenstown, picked apples locally in Nelson, cleaned toilets, served pints, cleared tables, pushed paper, temped in offices in Wellington and Sydney, telemarketed, knocked on doors selling Christmas cards and calendars, and wiped other people's children's bottoms.

In 1999 I completed a Diploma in Computer Graphic Design at NatColl in Wellington and I worked in the industry for over ten years. My first design position led me to a job in Palmerston North with an agricultural company. It was at this company that I met my husband to-be Kev. At the end of 2001 Kev and I relocated to Nelson and married in Ruby Bay January 2004. Our daughter Amelia was born March 2005.

I have an interest in scriptwriting and in 2003 completed a Certificate in Television Production at NMIT. Around 2004 I declared myself officially out of the writing closet.I have been published in The Nelson Mail, have entered a number of writing competitions and in 2005 had a short story published within an anthology of Nelson writers. I wrote a a bimonthly column for The Nelson Districts Parent Centre Newsletter for a couple of years. I also have two other blogs - one about my experience with SIF (secondary infertility) and one about mothering a child with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

In recent years I made the leap from graphics on the computer screen to art on canvas. As I'd never had any formal art training, in 2008 I enrolled in a beginners course in painting in acrylics. I held three stalls with friends locally in Nelson late 2008/early 2009 - at The Richmond Annual Market Day, The Founders Fair (sold seven paintings) and The Mapua Easter Show. (sold four paintings).

Towards the end of 2010 I enrolled in an experienced arts course. On January 2nd 2011 I had a stall at the Tahunanui Arts and Crafts Fair with some workmates and sold eight paintings - and a painted rock. I had a stall at The Mapua Easter Fair in 2011 with one of the same workmates and sold four paintings and two painted rocks.

In October 2012 I won a short story competition and was published in the February/March 2013 edition of Her Magazine. My first piece of fiction to be published in a magazine, which makes it an exciting writing milestone!

In November 2012 I held a stall with a friend at the Plunket Bonanza. After an eighteen month absence from painting, it was great to get out the brushes again!

In the Summer of 2012/2013 I held a few stalls at the McCashins Saturday market in Stoke with my own pergola that I got for Christmas in 2012. At the same time I launched my hobby-business Lynda J T - which is essentially art for children's bedrooms specialising in personalised art. There is a Facebook page for Lynda J T which features some of the work I have created for friends, family and clients.

I completed a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) through Victoria University in 2013. I'm looking forward to combining teaching with my love of art and writing in 2014.