Tuesday is going to be a great day!!! Not only is someone coming to clean my house, I’m also having pre-made meals dropped off that I plan to eat for lunch! It’s quite literally a dream come true. When my kids were little and I was a young struggling single mom the idea of having someone to help me with the day to day tasks was something I literally dreamed of. And on Tuesday it’s going to be my reality!
Along with a ton of excitement I also feel a little guilty. Okay, maybe more than a little. Part of me thinks that I “should” be doing these things myself…cleaning my house and cooking for my family. That’s a mom’s job, to do all the things. I need to run my business and take care of my clients and give kids rides, and then do the cooking and the cleaning. Also, I need to give my kids the one-on-one attention that they need and don’t forget to exercise, drink water, meditate and get enough sleep!
For so long women and parents and all people have been given the message that we need to do it all! Do it all, do it well and do it right now.
When I started my private practice I never intended to do it all. From day one I knew I’d hire someone to do my billing and someone to do my taxes. It never occurred to me to try to do those things on my own. Not only do I not know how, but it would take me hours to figure it out. I wanted to spend that time with clients, not with numbers! I work with local businesses to help me run my practice. It’s a win-win situation. I support them and they support me and the work we do benefits the community.
So this morning when I found a local meal delivery service being started by a young family in my area I was thrilled to give it a try! I decided to apply the same principle that I use in my business in my home. If I have to do less cooking and I can still eat a healthy lunch then I can spend more time with my kids. Same for hiring a housekeeper. I get to spend more time hanging out with my kids and less time getting frustrated with them for not doing the chores that need to be done around the house.
And just as importantly, I’m supporting other local women and families in reaching their goals too! Because I’m not bogged down with housekeeping and making my lunches I get more time with my kids and I have more time to spend helping the families that I see for counseling.
Each successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.
Paul Ryan
I fully see and appreciate what a huge privilege this is. When I was a young struggling single mom it was almost unimaginable that I’d one day have enough money to hire someone to help me with these things. I am still in awe that I am able to do this. Even if you don’t have extra money you can still grow your community. I used to trade childcare with other moms. I used to pay my babysitters in food, by making them whatever they wanted to eat that day.
The point that I’m trying to make here is that we don’t need to do it all on our own. I don’t think we were ever meant to. I want to surround myself with people who are good at things that I am either not good at or that I don’t have time for. I want to use my resources to help others grow their businesses too. I’m ditching that old narrative that says I need to do everything on my own. I will no longer buy into the narrative that we are meant to do it…
