Modern Life

Everyone talks about how busy modern life is. With the invention of the microwave, dishwasher and mobile phone, life only seems to have gotten busier. Why is that?

But along with that busy-ness, seems to be a constant change. People change jobs more frequently, roles within jobs, expectations, working conditions and hours seem to be constantly changing too. I feel that you can't really make long term plans anymore, because you can't really imagine what life will be like in 2, 5 or 10 years.

Five years ago my husband and I moved our family across the city for a number of reasons:

1. To be closer to his work, cutting down an 1.5hr commute to a matter of minutes each day, allowing him to spend more time with me and the kids.
2. To live in a community where our children could more safely enjoy some of the things we took for granted as children ourselves.
3. To give ourselves a choice of a number of high schools which would equip our children for their adult lives.
4. To live closer to friends to be able to enjoy the journey of life alongside.

In the time that has passed, so much has changed that we really have to dig deep to cling to those reasons. While my husband still only takes minutes to get to work, he works much longer hours when he is there, so we cling to the knowledge that he's able to drop in to see that race at the sports carnival or come home early now and again to watch a school concert.

Our community is really no different to any other community now and we're constantly struggling to allow our children to be independent without putting them at undue risk.

Our choice of high schools has significantly lowered with the closure of some and others adopting strict boundaries. Who would have thought that we now only have one choice, like we did before?

Our friends have moved away or have busy lives also, and as our children have grown, it's become quite difficult to have the social life we once had. In fact, most of our friends now are the parents of our children's friends. Friends we've made at the school gate and soccer sideline.

Modern life is all about change. Modern living is all about embracing change and being willing to make the best decision at the time based on what you think the future will be like. Most of all I think you have to adopt a 'no looking back' philosophy. You can have no regrets in modern life, because you just couldn't have known how life would turn out today.

Today, I'm thankful that modern life has enabled me to work from home using the internet, and not tied me to a desk in an office. I'm thankful that modern life has enabled me to free up some time to watch my son play school soccer tomorrow. I'm thankful that modern life had enabled my husband to take the kids for a ride this morning while I prepared bacon and eggs for a traditional family breakfast. Yes, modern life is all about change, but that doesn't mean the things that worked in the past can't be held onto into the future.

A New Path

Today I resigned from my job of nearly 4 years.

It was really hard to do. You see I'm not resigning because I don't like the job or I've got something else to go to. I'm quitting so that I've got more time to be with my kids.

I'm not stopping work altogether, but I am giving up a job I really love and feel valuable in. It's taken me some time to realise this is a decision I need to make for my family. But that doesn't mean it feels like the best choice for myself.

We've just come back from a trip around the outback. We've toured lots of museums that tell of what life was like in outback Australia in the 1800's. There were many tales of women who gave up everything -their own families, their country of birth, their position in society, their comfort, their safety and ultimately, their lives, so that farms could be settled on the fringes of settlement. This put into perspective my own position. I'm not leaving my house and I get to give something more to the people I love. I don't really have any reason to complain.

So starting tomorrow, I've decided to embrace the mindset of a pioneering mother:

• No more feeling sorry for myself about giving up what I want for others
• Looking for opportunities in everything that comes my way, even the things that don't seem to be going very well
• Being resourceful and making the most of what I have, not pining for the things I don't have
• Valuing every day I have with my children and husband and looking for ways to connect with each of them, individually, every day
• Connecting with other modern pioneer mothers who are doing their bit to shape the future generation
• Celebrating my motherhood by getting stuck into the jobs and then sitting down for a nice cup of tea on the patio

Life is good. I don't want to waste a day of it.