Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Work Life Balance

I realized today that many of my fellow homeschool moms don’t realize that I actually work too!  I thought for a minute (duh!) that since I am very passionate about what I do, I should share a little about what I’ve been doing for the past 4 years (whoa! It’s been that long?).
In 2007, I saw an opportunity to serve as an ambassador for a program called the Phoenix Teaching Fellows.  This program recruits, selects, and trains professionals and recent college grads to become teachers in high-need schools. Since then I’ve served in various capacities but my most favorite part of the job is recruitment. Last year, the Phoenix Teaching Fellows changed its name to the Arizona Teaching Fellows to reflect its expansion to other parts of Arizona. Yay!
I mentioned that my biggest dream is to see that my boys will eventually hold a career in something that they are passionate about and love. While I only work seasonally for the AZTF, I truly am grateful for the opportunity. Why? Hundreds of students who because of AZTF will have committed, high-quality teachers who will give them them the best education they deserve. There is no doubt that there is a true disparity in high needs schools and wealthy schools. That’s why AZTF exists.  Because students in high needs schools truly need these dedicated, high achieving college grads and career professionals to pour into their lives. To become that constant that they truly crave and need. Every year I get to personally meet the new Fellows and I beam with such excitement. They have no idea that the commitment they made is going to impact so many children.
When my sweetie taught he carried around this Starfish Story in his wallet.  I love knowing that the work we do will bring just one more teacher that will impact one more student. WOW! Talk about making a difference!
Going back to my dream of our boys doing the kind of work they are passionate about is why I wanted to talk about the work I do.  It doesn’t feel like work. It feels like play. I love what I do. I look forward to the time I set aside to do it. I schedule it in right after our homeschool day and the time FLIES. Isn’t that a blessing?!
So when someone talks about work life balance I think about the fact that when you love what you do, your life is balanced. I’m not saying that there aren’t difficult days or some days in which it’s really hard, I’m just saying that' it’s definitely nice to have that passion and drive.  Have that in whatever you do.  If you are a homeschooling mom, do it with passion and drive. LOVE IT. Look forward to it. If you are a stay-at-home mom, have passion in it. Enjoy homemaking. Read articles and blogs about homemaking and get good at it too. You know?  Homemaking, homeschooling, being CEO of the home is totally work and while that doesn’t really add zeroes to our paycheck, it is an investment into our children.  And that my friend, is work and life balance Smile.

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