First World Problems (1st edition)

Being an adult is hard. I’m not talking about the obvious challenges of earning money, managing it, paying bills, etc. I’m just talking about being an adult with various relationships to juggle.

There are spouses, lovers (but hopefully not both, you little minx), family, children, friends, pets, daily responsibilities, and so on. Balancing all of these things is one of the most exhausting parts of my life. It would be nice if there was a manual for this sort of thing.

I always want to spend time with my husband. He’s my favorite person to be around and we have a lot of fun. But on top of that, quality time is very important for keeping our marriage strong and happy so there is also the necessary aspect of spending time together.

Then there is my family. I work with my sister so seeing/spending time with her is never really an issue. We talk basically all day every day. But the rest of my family, with the exception of my mom and step dad, lives 3-4 hours away. If they are in town I want to spend as much time as possible with them. Not to mention I would love, more than anything, to be able to make frequent trips to see them, but with all the other relationships I juggle, finding time is a challenge. In addition to my own family, I also have my husband’s family to think about. They are a very close knit family and I love hanging out with them so lots of time gets dedicated to them as well.

I have the greatest best friend. We always have so much fun together when we’re hanging out, regardless of what we’re doing. It makes me sad when we go long stretches of time without seeing each other. But in addition to enjoying her company, sometimes she needs my company. She’s had a rough year and sometimes dinner with her BFF to vent or just sit in a mutually understood silence is what she needs to make her feel better. Being there for a friend is always a top priority for me.

Of course, I have other friends, too. Shocker, I know. So there is the occasional dinner, fitness class, or whatever with them, too.

I don’t mean for this to sound like an “oh, I’m so popular I don’t have time for all my friends” groan. Sadly, that is not the case. I can probably count my good friends on one hand. The problem is that on top of balancing these very important relationships, I also have to balance the necessary parts of my life. You know 40hr/wk. job, housework, grocery shopping, volunteering, exercising, etc.

I seem to give myself so much to all these relationships that not only do I always feel like I’m neglecting someone or something, I AM always neglecting myself. When is there time to be selfish?

I don’t mean for this to sound like I am whining about “having” to spend time with various people. These are all relationships that I want to have, to nurture, and to grow! I love the people in my life and I love hanging out with them. All I’m saying is that being a good wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend is hard. Lord help me when it’s time to add mother to that list.

But… I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.