It’s been a while since I have written seems like my days have become shorter yet always so much to do. Prioritizing always places things into perspective. I have been asked often, “How on earth do you do it?” Yes a mom of two young children, chores, maintaining my marriage, maintaining my sadhana (devotional practice), reading, studies, local temple services, maintaining family ties and friendships.
I try as much as possible to make reminders daily. I do not have a high profile organizer (hehehe) but a simple notebook from the dollar store. I have learned to be thrifty as it has been five years almost I have been a stay at home mom. Learning to managing resources has become a developed skill; recognizing the importance of necessity and of course occasional luxuries or in my case utilizing assets and gifts to create balance.
Each day without fail there are the must do: you cannot take a day off being a parent:) so you might as well key in some individual time with each child even if it is just a five minutes. Seems like so less; try having two very close inseparable children 21 months apart. Even when one is told to go to the calm down area the other follows. However important to target that lone time with each. Now that my breast feeding journey is over I have that extra energy as I am well rested to do exactly that.
Friendships and family- I try to send messages to one person or more a day to keep the connection going. Phone calls can be tough but with whatsapp it makes it super easier to send some love.
Marriage- truly has had its ups and downs as the children has taken centre stage. When the kids go to bed we try with our tired selves to catch up. It may not be very long but just the quiet and togetherness grounds us. We also send messages to each other periodically and my husband has been really good keeping me on track with that.
My sadhana has been been a work in progress. I sneak moments of reading scripture and studying verses which have been placed on my walls to remind me of God. This is the most nourishing aspect of my life. whilst kids are eating, playing, I simply steal the moments. My japa has been “baby watching japa” for a long time but I have made that shift to schedule when everyone is asleep or when my kids are napping.
Serving the community- My husband has been amazing with giving me some free time and breaks. Therefore I use this time to do my various services. Most days I usually get an hour of quiet time. It can be more or sometimes none on some days.
I try to balance and nourish all areas of my life. I have also slowly developed no room for nonsense mentality and eliminate all toxic elements. Being sensitive by nature it is important to protect my heart and therefore I try to be wiser with my choice of time investments on others. Frankly speaking; simply put if you cannot invest two minutes on me I do not have that time for you as well. It is all about priority. I have an absolutely filled life like many others and therefore I know the importance of maintaining and holding everything together. Therefore I value myself to only accept reciprocation in every form.
Hope this is useful.
All we need is love
Julia
Julia Rambharose 