subject: Career Change-follow Your Dreams [print this page] For many people, especially women with children, family responsibilities can easily get in the way of fulfilling your dreams. Between caring for a toddler, driving your older kids back and forth to school, getting your son to soccer practice, helping with homework, fixing dinner, cleaning the house, yelling at the dog for chewing up your new pair of shoes, finding some time for your husband, and somehow maintaining a job of your own somewhere in the middle of it all, it's no wonder you might think, "I'm doomed!"
But the truth of the matter is that you are not doomed.
Being a mother is a beautiful thing, but it can also be very hectic, to say the least. But as someone who has been there and done that (and still doing it), I know there are ways to mange the responsibilities of being a mother and wife while pursuing a new career for yourself. It's just a matter of calling on various resources and committing yourself to whatever you want to achieve.
If you are married and your husband has two functioning hands, then he can clean, cook, and help out with the kids as well. It's just a matter of letting him know in what areas you need his help and working out an agreement. This is not to say that he is not already helping out in various ways, but if you find that you are carrying most of the load right now and it is getting in the way of you working on your career goals, then approach him and see if there is a way he can take on some more of the family duties for the time being.
"But my children need me!" you might be thinking. Yes, they do. But don't let that become your excuse for not pursuing your dreams, as it could very well become a source of resentment somewhere later on down the line.
Sometimes as mothers, it's hard to let go of certain motherly duties. We tend to be emotional creatures and even though somewhere inside we know we want something more out of life, we convince ourselves that we have to put what we want on the back burner because our family needs us. You might think that your husband can't do something as well as you do it. Maybe you think your precious little Johnny can only be put to bed by you. Or maybe you feel that if you left your three children in your husband's care for more than an hour, there would only be two children left alive upon your return. But these are just excuses!
The truth of the matter is that everyone will do just fine without you. Yes, your precious little Johnny might have to adjust to the sour notes of daddy's lullaby songs, but he will adjust. He might even come to like the feel of being tucked into daddy's hairy arms as he rocks him back and forth. It's just a matter of you giving up some control and delegating some of your duties to other people in your family.
If old enough, your children can also help. Older children can help care for younger children, whether it be helping out with homework or getting them bathed and ready for bed for you. Children of various ages can always help out around the house when it comes to cleaning. Taking into consideration their age, they can be assigned certain chores so that you are not stuck with all the cleaning. You may even have a child who is old enough to cook or prepare meals. If so, then assign them with preparing the family meal a couple times of week. Set up a reward system so that they get something in return for their efforts.
Through assessment and creative problem solving, you can lighten your present load of family responsibilities. Doing so will help enable you to focus on the tasks you need to manage when it comes to making a better life for yourself.
