My friend Alexandra Hughes, a wise coach, tells mamas: you can do it all…just not right now!  As a goal-oriented, striving-to-be-less impatient, working mama, the last thing I wanted to hear when I went back to work after maternity leave was that somehow I couldn’t do it all.  And do it all immediately.  And well.  Doing something at a baby pace?  No way.  Not for me.Slow Down Mama

But really, in my heart of hearts, I knew plans had to change.  The pace of what I called “progress” on projects in my life had to change.  I knew deep down, though, that slower could mean better.  Deeper.  Richer.  And well-lived.

Before having my first baby and going back to work, there were lots of things I enjoyed doing and managed to find time for – including writing poetry.  Then along came my first munchkin.  And most non-essentials came to a standstill.

Somehow, though, when my baby was just under a year old, I managed to eek out this poem about my frustrations.  I share it with you to say:  YES.  You CAN do those thing you loved before you became a mama.  In slivers, and tiny bites, and pieces for now, and more later as your kids grow.  And that for now, you can simply soak up and love – just love – the moments you’re in.

Baby Pace
 
With baby at home
I don’t find time
anymore
to write poems.
My first pen to paper
these ten months
is to write this lament.

But life with baby
IS poetry.
From the gurgling cadence
of his ba ba babbles
to rhymes and sighs and lullabys…

Fleeting nuzzles
in my neck;
we clap each other’s hands
for patty cake.
Moo ba la la,
the farmer said;
please, please little redhead
let’s go to bed!

So my poems
simply
will have to wait.
Words do no justice
to the angel skin
cuddle roo
magic giggles
or Big Love
anyway.

Want more advice on getting your head in a better place for your return to work after maternity leave?  Check out the Mindful Return E-Course hereNew sessions start soon.

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