Why a Blog?
Okay so clearly I want to change. The goal is to find balance, slow down, live purposefully and enjoy life. So why start a blog? Why add another thing to my already overflowing plate.
Well I spent several months of the past year writing a dissertation. This thing was a beast at 200 pages and the culmination of everything I had discovered in the four years of my PhD. I always complain about writing, but I am actually decent at it and it comes quickly to me – when I’m motivated. Well after that just ended and I had nothing left to do for it I found several moments of quiet where I would think to myself, “I should go write”. Except I had nothing to write. No reason. So then about a week or so ago I thought “maybe I should journal”. Well that literally took one day of spewing my thoughts on paper and my husband watching me type up a page and a half in 10 minutes that he said “you should start a blog”.
I’ve had my Instagram since 2020. Right before I started my PhD I thought that maybe I could show women that you don’t have to choose between starting grad school and starting a family. It is possible to do both. And I do feel like I made some waves there (even got an article published about bringing children with you to scientific conferences). I think I showed PI’s that you can be extremely successful in a laboratory setting and still take your kid to gymnastics, or stay home when they are sick. But now my PhD is over and it is back to the military life, and my job in the military is so niche I don’t know that it would be of value to most people.
The Dream
One of my dreams would be to write one of those self-development books to help other women. I started thinking how I could shift my Instagram to better target this but I’ll be honest, I’m not great at Instagram. I don’t have the best photography skills, I love watching reels but I am not great at filming them. I love it, I’ll keep it, but it’s not the best platform for me.
So here I am. Combining my desire to write with my desire to help other women. What will I write about? The honest truth is a little bit of everything. Life with 5 kids, daily routines, how I keep track of schedules and chores, tips to make your day run smoother. On a more personal level: parenting struggles, a military move, starting a new job jitters, starting a homestead (I have a LOT to learn). Basically, everything I have learned so far and everything I will continue to learn.
As I mentioned before, I’ve already started making some changes to our lives. My dream is to raise my kids to be ‘country kids’ like all the country songs and how Travis and I were when we first met. I don’t want this rush of daily daycare to school to activities to dinner to bed every single day. I want them to slow down and enjoy their childhood. I want them to feel part of the family. I want Travis and I to be able to slow down with them and enjoy our time with them. I’m hoping our little homestead becomes a family hobby that we can ALL do TOGETHER.
I dream of a house with less toys and less stuff where my kids are free to use the imaginations to create games I never heard of. Family game nights, family movie nights, family camping trips without the stress that I put on myself. Barefoot kids in the back yard, dogs running amongst the kids. Travis with his woodshop, me with a book- still finding time to be ourselves and working jobs we absolutely love.
The Goal
I truly think it is possible to go to work, do sports/activities with your kids, keep up on your housework, stay in shape, have a hobby and enjoy your life. I think the secret to this balance lies in being more intentional and more present with your life. I think I am on the path to finding this balance.
I would love to create a community of women here. Please feel free to comment, start discussions, leave me ideas for other blogs, ask questions. If you are shy like me then use the links to send me an email or a DM on Instagram. Follow along in my stories to see glimpses of our day-to-day life and check in for weekly updates here!
So I hope you’ll join me on this journey through chaos. I hope I can show you ways to be more organized or more structured with your days, or maybe show you how to move more slowly and be more mindful. I hope I can give you a glimpse of real-life chaos so you feel less alone. Whether you are working mom that wants to feel more present with your children or a mom who’s so flustered with everything that she doesn’t know where to start. Or maybe you aren’t a mom yet but you love your job and you are wondering if you can keep that passion and still raise a family. I hope I am able to inspire you to grow and learn alongside me!