*Week-Old Post*

***I had started this post a week ago, but forgot to actually post it - I think I indended to add to it, but oh well...sharing it now!**

I have been at work for a week and a half now, and while I am still coming up to speed on some things, I am really enjoying the experience … is some ways, it feels like the past decade has just melted away, and I am back to work analyzing and designing business solutions….that skill-set just comes so naturally to me. Then there are other aspects that are a bit more difficult for me to settle back into. Truth be told, most of it is the same thing anyone would experience when starting a new job, meeting all the people, getting up and running, getting a feel for the corporate culture. It is also my nature to want to be productive and delivering and an active contributor on day 1, and so it is a bit frustrating for me to have to get there and not just BE there already!

Of course, I have less time and more importantly energy for the other things in life…but again, still making that transition. I haven’t been so great about working out this week. It is just so cold and dark in the morning and at night (and it has been rainy here most of the week) that it is so tough to get out of bed. My other issue is laundry…it never quits! I know I seem to complain about laundry a lot (well it feels like I do)…and I’m not sure how other people manage it, but at our house, it is impossible. Even when I feel caught up, it takes a few hours for everyone to fill another basket by just getting ready for bed and taking their day’s clothes off.

It just all enforces to me how we all tend to define ourselves by how we spend the hours in our day. And with all the labels we wear, mom, wife, room mom, friend, volunteer, neighbor, chef, exerciser, sister, daughter, host, organizer…how many can we collect and still do anyone of them the justice they deserve? Some have higher stakes, some have more tolerance built-in, some are fun others a real chore at times.

I am just struggling to re-distribute my labels (priorities) in my new adventure keeping in mind that we all have finite resources, primarily time (24 hours) and energy (which seems to shrink as we age/add more to our lives). Considering that my finite resources were VERY fully allocated before, I am finding it exceedingly challenging to re-allocate now that I am using about 5.5 hours of my day (about 23% of my day)…imagine if someone told you that you had to do everything you are currently doing but with 23% less time. Hopefully, it is just a matter of time (pardon the pun), before I adjust and manage to put techniques in place and become more efficient to make it all fit….a bit like a puzzle that can be put together in a variety of ways…it has been dumped on the floor, and I have to race the clock to get the million pieces back together in a way that works, works well and uses all the pieces without any gaps….should be easy right?? 