I scanned the clothes in my closet and realized that I had nothing to wear. A friend had invited me to an event she organized for her new employer – one of those corporate breakfasts that purportedly allows you to enjoy the best of two worlds: network with a great group of people and absorb words of wisdom from an esteemed group of panelists, and still get to your desk job at a decent hour.
Which is all well and good when you normally wake up at the crack of dawn to go to work, but challenging when you no longer need to wake up at the crack of dawn to go to work. Happy that my friend thought of me and grateful for the invitation, I convinced myself that the event would be good for me – you never know who might require freelance writing services. The girls were off from school and I enlisted Chloe to babysit Sophie. I rolled out of bed and hustled to get ready because I was already running late. And that’s when I opened my closet doors and froze.
I’ve taken a leap into the abyss. And it’s terrifying and exhilarating and a bit insane. I am a writer. I need to remind myself of this fact several times a day, but it’s my new mantra. “I am a writer.” “I am a writer.” “I am a writer.”
I’ve gradually become more comfortable telling people I’m a writer when they ask me what I do. I’ve progressed to the point where I can even say it with a straight face.
How do you make time? I thought I’d be making a lot of time after I quit my job last year. Hell, I’d be freeing up at least 60 hours a week to do lots of things. Making time to raise my kids, making time to train a puppy, making time to whip myself into shape, making time to take on some consulting gigs, making time to write…
Truffle the monster puppy has been with us for almost five weeks now. And I’m finally starting to feel like equilibrium is returning to our household. He’s a bit calmer, a bit smarter and a much better listener than he was even two weeks ago.
I’ve been wearing the Chief Mom Officer hat for five whirlwind months. It’s been an amazing five months on three continents. I wake up every morning thinking about my experience so far and I feel lucky. So very lucky.
In my last post, I mentioned that one of the nice surprises about my transition to Chief Mom Officer has been the great sense of peace that has settled over me.
I have now served as chief mom officer for four weeks. It’s been a fantastic month. That said, what I intended to be an extended vacation at home for the first few weeks of this new life phase has been anything but.
