Seasons of Your Life

Today I received a note from www.blogged.com letting me know that my blog received a rating of 6.2 (out of a possible 10) in their recent review of my blog. At first I was dissapointed, but then I read their criteria which included frequency of updates. As its been more than 2 weeks since my last post, I guess am not surprised at the rating. When I started this blog, I committed to posting two times a week and I did so for nearly two years. But, last fall when I took on a full-time teaching position, I decided to let go a little and just post when I had time. Lately, I just haven't had time.

I probably could find time. I pick my kids up from school each day at 3pm. But, because their school is also a day care center, I could pick them up later. In fact, I could pick them up at 6pm each day and have a lot more time to post in my blog and get ahead on some projects. However, right now the kids aren't involved in a lot of activities and so I can enjoy just hanging out with them. We don't have much more time like this, and since I do have the flexibility in my work to allow me to pick them up early now, I will continue to let some things slide.

I was involved in a program last week with our local YWCA which provided women leaders support in finding work/life balance. As part of the program, I facilitated a panel discussion with some successful female leaders who shared their experiences. One of the executives on the panel mentioned how her work and life balance strategies changed as she moved through the seasons of her life. The point of 'seasons of your life' came up several times in our discussion. The idea is that at different times in your life, you have different needs and opportunities for work/life balance. This executive, for example, currently has children in high school and her career is at a steady point. So she is now pursuing more personal interests. She discussed earlier seasons when she was more focused on her kids, or more focused on her career.

And so while I continue to work to promote more family friendly work opportunities, during this season of my life, I may not spend as much time as I did in the past (or will in the future) on some activities such as this blog. But seasons change, and my interests and free time will as well.