Three-Ring Circus

A working woman who’s also a wife and mother can often feel like a juggler in a three-ring circus.

I was working at a job I loved when I discovered I was pregnant,  and I happily applied for a maternity leave to start two weeks before the baby was due.

My years on leave with my child were precious,  but all too soon it seemed he started nursery school,  and happily but with some trepidation about leaving him,  I went back to work.  (See Stay-at-Home Mom)

And then the juggling act would begin.

I’d come home from work and roll up my sleeves to more work – caring for a toddler, a household,  and a husband.  To be fair my husband was willing to help,  but his work schedule brought him home too late to do much,  so I was chief cook and bottle washer,   child bather,  and dinner maker.

And thinking back to those years I remember feeling so stressed and so exhausted that at times I seemed to be running on empty at work and at home.  And I remember there were many tears,  and idle threats,  and much slamming of doors.

But in the grand scheme of things I realize my stressors were garden variety and manageable.   And in equal measure I remember a sense of pride and accomplishment in all I was doing.

And one lesson I learned – a juggler in a three-ring circus may have a lion’s share of stress,  but she’ll never have a dull moment!

– Dana Susan Lehrman