Editor’s Note: This article was written by a contributor and not by Maman Caféine.
I know I’m going to sound like I’m complaining with my mouth full, but I need to vent. I love my life, my kids, my partner, and even my job, but I’m exhausted. As I slowly approach my 40s, I realize that my pace of life no longer suits me. I’m low on energy and my spirits are at rock bottom. The pandemic clearly hasn’t helped; many of us have struggled through the last two years and realized that the pace we set for ourselves is sometimes a little crazy…
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I’m lucky to have a partner who’s very involved in various tasks—scheduling appointments, handling the kids’ activities, and so on. That’s not the problem! And I sympathize with all the women who aren’t as fortunate as I am or who are single parents. You have my utmost admiration! The problem lies instead in the reality imposed by the workplace. I’m sure many parents will recognize themselves in my words: the workplace isn’t set up for parents. Sure, the situation is better than it was in our own parents’ day, but the fact remains that many workplaces aren’t very good at supporting work-life balance. We’re running around nonstop from Monday to Friday to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible—homework, meals, the evening routine, emails to handle, projects to turn in… Phew! By Friday night, I’m completely exhausted. And I barely get to enjoy my two days off to rest, because we have to catch up on various tasks we couldn’t get to during the week—and we’re also trying to spend quality time with our kids. When the workweek starts again on Monday, my batteries are barely recharged to 55–60%. Then the cycle repeats…
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I’m not quite sure where I’m going with this story because I don’t really have a solution to this reality. I just know that I need to talk about it—to see if other parents might feel the same way, perhaps? I don’t regret becoming a mom; I love my kids more than anything, and I love my life, but I’d so love not to feel like I’m always rushing around! I’d love to have more energy and not feel like my life is just an endless cycle that repeats itself over and over. Maybe things get better once the kids are older? Mine are in early adolescence, so it’s definitely a demanding time.
It would be great to have shorter work weeks. I think that would be good for everyone, don’t you?! Having an extra day on the weekend would let me really rest and recharge my batteries…
How about you—do you feel exhausted? What do you do to make time for yourself?