Its hard to be two places at once, even if one of those places is virtual. Here's why I took a summer social media break:
Following my spring relaunch of Homemaker's Habitat I devoted a ton of time to developing new recipes and building my Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram profiles. There was some great momentum happening and I was really excited about the future. But as soon as summer hit, you may have noticed that things slowed to a crawl. I thought you might be wondering why. It turns out I have two very good reasons. (Hint: You're looking at them right now).
Here's why I took a summer social media break:
I've had Max and Lilly home with me all summer. For the first time in all my years of being a mom, I finally admitted to myself that the only way to enjoy being a full-time mom was to actually be a full time mom. Full stop. I realized I had to make a choice. I chose them.
Other than a half-day art camp the kids attended occasionally over the past two months most days its been just a three of us. And I wanted to actually enjoy it. To enjoy them. And not feel constantly distracted by my computer, my camera, my Instagram feed. So I hit pause.
Instead of cameras and computers, my days have been filled with blanket forts and backyard science experiments. Trips to the pool and the park, the library and the zoo, museums and McDonalds Playland. As with all parenting experiences, some days are magical, some are utterly atrocious (I can usually judge how the day is going by the number of paper towels we've gone through), but for most of them, I've been focused and present. Clear-headed enough to deal with the hiccups and appreciate the little things. Mostly.
I've managed to squeeze in a few paid projects here and there — a quick-turn recipe development project, helping a friend food style her local media appearances, my monthly articles for The Inspired Home. But for the most part, my summer job has been mom. Hauling 30 pounds of junk to the pool, breaking up sibling squabbles, packing park picnics.
Do I feel guilty about slowing down so significantly just when things were starting to grow? Yes. Do I worry that at this rate I'll never, ever achieve any level of bonafide success as a consultant, food stylist, brand influencer or any of the other titles I aspire to? All the damned time. But at least for now, for the past few months, I feel like I've succeeded in being pretty great at the one job that matters most of all.
School starts in a few weeks and I already have some fun things planned — a bunch of new timesaving weeknight recipes to share, a new PDF ebooklet I'm working on and an upcoming media appearance on FOX. I'll get to all of that and I'm excited to do it. But for now, I've got two amazing kids who need me. All of me.
