Ann Leach

.. and oh how I am struggling! How's that for an opening line? Ha! My struggle is not new. Moving from full-time employment outside the home to all the time stay-at-home mom has been the hardest thing I've ever done. It has been nearly 20 years, and I am still sorting myself out. I get bored. I get lonely. I get a lot done. I lose motivation and get nothing done. I just don't know what to do with myself! So it's been 20 years, why write about it now? I'm writing about it for a few reasons: 1) I'm sure I am not the only one with this struggle - feeling totally overwhelmed, and at loose ends at the same time. 2) I'm not happy living this way! It's not fair to myself, and it's not fair to my family. 3) I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing the last couple of days which has resulted in some self-awareness that is going to make the changes I make stick this time. What I knew about myself before is that I function better with structure...

Every day, I struggle with how to plan and execute my day. Crazy, right?  I know.  I'm a SAHM. All I have to do is some housework and play with my daughter. It's a no-brainer.  Well, maybe for you, but not for me. For example this morning, I was sitting here at the table and thinking about my day, all the different things I want to get done - morning routine, daily cleaning, meals/dishes, yoga with Isabelle, homeschooling, my 1 hour walk, mowing (luckily it's raining so this is off the list), sewing/crochet time, 1 hour outside with Isabelle, a big physical activity with Isabelle; and OH MY GOSH!!!  Where do I even begin? Now, I do have a monthly/weekly planner that I keep our activities on, and usually I use that to make a list of my daily activities. But even with that I find myself getting lost throughout the day.      And yes, I did set up a dry erase board a few weeks ago with morning/afternoon/evening sections to help break up ...