Someone said to me recently that I needed to make more adjustments with my family / work / life balance so that I didn’t find myself so stressed and burned out. It’s always so easy for someone looking in to suggest ways to improve yourself, but life just isn’t that simple!
My children are the most important thing to me in the WORLD! Yes, work is important and because I OWN my business … well, if I don’t do it, then nobody else does … but still, I make damned sure that I spend quality time with both my kids every single day.
It does feel like I am constantly working at the moment … if I’m not in the workshop pouring candles, packaging or packing up boxes then I’m working at home … I’m doing the accounts, getting the numbers done and trying desperately to cut out the middle men. That’s a whole other post though! I don’t have a choice but to take the children into work with me during the day for a couple of hours, then I head back there in the evening as soon as Hub walks through the door!!
I HATE the fact that money has been so tight that we haven’t been able to afford a summer holiday for the kids for the last 3 years. They want to have nice things, they want the latest this and that – and because they ARE good kids (most of the time!!) I’d love to be able to treat them and reward them more often.
Yes I know, it’s not about money and materialistic posessions – it’s about growing up in a safe and loved environment … but c’mon, when all your friends have really cool clothes and you are wearing school trousers that are too short and tops that don’t fit you anymore – then the materialistic stuff DOES matter.
I’ve felt ashamed and embarrassed some days when I’ve sent the kids off to school because their uniforms have needed replacing for so long and there just hasn’t been the money for it. Both of them have so few clothes in their wardrobes that fit properly and let’s not get started on the shoes that are falling to pieces!!
THIS is why I do it. This is why I work hard! It’s so I can turn around a flagging business, bring it right up to exactly where it needs to be and for my kids to have the benefit of it, because ONE day … ONE day I’ll be a millionaire earn enough money to be comfortable.
It is hard though … I know my family resents the time I spend out of the house, and because business has been slow recently, I’ve had to throw myself into it even more, yet I’m not even bringing in an income right now. One thing I’m NOT though is a quitter! I even talked to the children about the possibility of closing down the business.
“But what else would you do?” was the reply. Good question!
It IS a daily struggle I will admit that, but I’m not prepared to give up on my business and it’s not like I can give up on my children, so until thenI just keep on keeping on and I just live in hope that the world stops spinning for long enough that I can get off ………. eventually!
