Are You Busy???

Well another school year has begun. With that, theoretically, should come more time to accomplish things for us "stay at home" moms. Even for those of you "working" moms who no longer have to pack swim clothes, sunscreen, lunch and the multitude of other items needed for the various "camps" your kids went to over the summer. So then...why do we still feel so busy??

I think that's just the pace of our society today. We all run around nonstop trying to check everything off of our various to-do lists while not forgetting any of the appointments and plans on our i-cals, day planners and good old trusty wall calendars. So which of the following camps do you fall into? (I'm speaking mostly to moms here, though we could categorize men, singles, retirees, etc. in much the same way!)

Mom 1...You're the full blown, type A, overachiever. You probably work full time at a law firm giving 60 or so hours a week while still managing to parent your 2 kids, drive carpool, and serve as president of the PTO. You're the one that makes the rest of us feel like we need to hurry up and get our act together. You have reason to sit down and doze off at midnight while trying to catch up on "Mad Men".

Mom 2...You work full or maybe part time. You do your best at your job. You try to make it to all the activities at your kids school and most of their sporting events, but you're constantly stressed. You'd like to help out at school or church, but there's no way you could squeeze one more thing into your day. You get your stuff done at home so that you can relax and watch your shows at night, but that's it. End of story.

Mom 3...You also work full or part time, do your best at your job, and try to get to everything your kids do. You manage to also serve on committees at school, volunteer in your community, and make time for things like an occasional walk or a yoga class, but you often feel that you're letting things drop. It's so hard to give 100% at work and at home, but you keep on trying. Sometimes you wish you didn't have to work, but you also worry that you'd feel like you weren't as valuable if not for your job.

Mom 4...You are a "stay at home" mom, but you're rarely in your house. You're up at school helping in your kid's class, working the library, selling pencils for the Stu Co store, or eating lunch with your child. Or maybe you're at Bible study, helping out at a food pantry, taking care of an elderly parent or neighbor, or training for a triathalon. You're often running around the kids of Mom 1 or 2 or maybe even letting out their dog while they're at work. Doesn't leave you near enough time to clean house or make dinner. And look...it's time to get the kids already! Sometimes you'd like a job so that you'd have an excuse to say no to everything else.

Mom 5...You are a true "stay at home" mom. You help out once in a while outside the home, but mostly you are at home planning meals, cooking meals, and freezing meals. Your house is always tidy and your laundry is always caught up. You're probably well versed in daytime t.v. which is your companion as you fold clothes, iron, and organize closets. Your gifts are always bought and wrapped months in advance, and you pride yourself in your ability to keep your home in order. But sometimes you wonder if another kind of busy would be more...exciting?!?

No matter which mom you identify the most with, I'm betting that you feel busy and stressed a large portion of your day. What is it that you would most like to spend time on that's being neglected? For me it's my scrapbooking. I'm only a mere 5 years behind. I tried to schedule a Friday night last September for some friends and daughters to do it together, but guess what...we were too busy. Here it is almost a year later. I'm going to grab my calendar and try to pick a date. What are you going to do??