The working parent's tightrope

I was reading your newsletter on the working parent's tightrope. I am a single mom working full time. I am truly blessed to work for a very small company where the boss believes that family comes first. My salary is not as high as it could be if I worked for a big company but it is still high for my field. The true benefit comes in the general ethos here. If anyone needs time off for family (school functions, sports, galas, hospital, sickness) it is given and there it is not given grudgingly. I can bring my daughter to work with me if she is sick or if I have no alternative during the school holidays. I can take time off whenever needed to attend every one of her sporting events, or school functions.

The part I don't like is having to spend the whole day away from my daughter. Last year and this year though, she is not attending the school's homework centre so I pick her up every afternoon and take her to aftercare. This means my lunch break is cut a bit short but it is truly wonderful for both of us to see each other in the middle of the day.

The essential part for me on this tightrope is making time for me, alone time. So I go to gym at least 3 times a week (either in the morning if my daughter has early sports or during my lunch break - there are great 30 minute gyms for women!). And evenings I do soul nourishing stuff like scented baths, chick flicks, reading.

Some days are really hard and my balance is off but on the whole my life is wonderful and I wouldn't change it one bit :)

Leanne