Busy Mom Saved By the Books

As a mom of two teens, a wife and a small business owner, my life is always hectic.  Like most of you, I often struggle with keeping my priorities and goals on track.  There is always some guilt to go around for something I did not do or did not do as well as I could have.  This year in particular things seem to be speeding more than usual and I was feeling exhausted and stressed.  By mid-year, I knew it was time to make some changes.

Goal 1:  Get My Home Organized

Although an organized person by nature, this year I kept saying, “I’ll do it later.”  Well later came and I knew I had to get back on track.  So I turned to my favorite go-to book.  For over 10 years (or thereabouts) I always turned to Julie Morgenstern’s book, Organizing from the Inside Out.  She taught me to organize around my family instead of training my family to fit a system.

Goal 2:  Be The Best Mom Possible

Nothing means more to us as moms than being the best mothers.  I’ll be honest, teens test their limits and it is not always easy to parent them.  When friends ask me what plans I have for the weekend, I tell them I run a volunteer cab and teen-sitting service.  Don’t get me wrong, I love every second of it.  I adore my kids and love spending time with them.  But I would be lying if I said it was always a stress-free and easy time.  A book written by Dr. John Duffy always grounds and reassures me.  It is called: The Available Parent Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens.  I use parts of his book as mantras. “Remain available to your child through the teenage years and you lay a foundation for a healthy loving relationship.”  Amen.

Goal 3:  Laugh More

There is no better way to relieve stress and bond with your teens than laughter. I found a book that does both simultaneously.  Sophia Fraioli and Lauren Kaelin pulled together texts from their popular website (plus lots of new ones too) in a book called When Parents Text: So Much Said . . . So Little Understood.  My girls and I read them together and LOLed.  Texting is part of our daily communication and unlike some parents, I enjoy texting with my kids.  The texts in this book show the sweet, caring side of this form of parent-child communication.  I also got taught by my girls on the difference between Okay, OK, K, kks.  All mean the same thing, but imply very different attitudes.  Who knew!

I find that if I try to tackle a full plate of priorities all at once, I just end up tired and feeling as if I missed something.  With the help of some good books, however, juggling my home, family, business, and self is possible as long as I approach each one individually.  By breaking down a busy schedule filled with agendas, obligations, desires, and chores into manageable pieces, life becomes organized and peace gets restored where chaos once reigned.

© 2011 Fauzia Burke.  All Rights Reserved.

Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a publicity and website development firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors on the web. For web publicity and social media news, follow Fauzia on Twitter: @FauziaBurke.