When the top morning radio team in Southern California (Gary Bryan and Lisa Stanley and the K-EARTH 101 Morning Show) invites you to shadow them one morning, you go...even if it means getting up at 3:30 a.m. on a Monday when the storm of the century is scheduled to hit. But it was all good, because I had everything scheduled perfectly (which probably should have made me nervous): I would go from the K-EARTH studio to some recording at MartiniInTheMorning.com to coffee with a friend to some work at The World Chart Show to drop off some essential oils to a friend and then head home to pick up my son from school and then send the babysitter home and hang with the kiddos.
Then, El Niño hit and by 6 a.m. pretty much all of Los Angeles was jumping at the thunder and lightning. That's when my babysitter called and said she wouldn't be coming in today.
For anyone who has kids and works out of the home, you know what this means...your beautifully scheduled plans are going out the window. I sent a mass text out to just about every sitter I know, and thankfully one gal could come by and take over with the baby so my guy could take my son to school and make it to work. I rescheduled a few things, had a ginormous gulp of coffee and half a veggie burrito and dreamed of taking a nap. At this point, it was 6:45 in the morning.
But...this is my life. Most days, I am not sure how I manage to pull off getting my work done and taking care of the children and keeping the household and everyone's lives running, and I am very grateful that I have an awesome part-time babysitter and my son is in school now, which certainly frees up some time during the day.
For a long time, I kept waiting for life to slow down or ease up or everything to fall magically into place so I would suddenly be able to start on some projects that I have wanted to do for awhile. And then one day, around Christmas 2015 and after doing some yoga, I decided to just start. I had seen a picture that said something like, "The dream is free but the hustle is sold separately," and I was feeling inspired to just try some things and see what would happen. The worst that could happen is that I would have an epic fail, right?
So...what's happened?
Well, in the past few months, I have launched a classic film podcast with Oscar-winning filmmaker James Moll called Classic Movie Recall, started a second book with my From the Corner of Hollywood and diVine co-author, Cori Linder, and am launching a digital marketing company with two friends and co-workers. I will also be part of a podcast on breast health and women's issues, called The Girls Have Something to Say.
It seems like a lot, but in so many ways...I have never been happier. Radio has been and always will be my first love, but as the world changes I have realized my choices are to change with it and learn something new, or stay the same and get bitter (I am going with option 1). It has also been a new experience to work whenever and wherever I can, rather than always being in a studio; I keep my laptop with me and look for those pockets of time in my day (waiting to pick up my child, a few extra minutes at Whole Foods where they have free wi-fi, time in the car alone when I can make calls) where I can catch up, create, and be productive.
Laura Vanderkam has an awesome book called I Know How She Does It, which is full of tips for moms on how to work and parent and not lose your mind. She offers up a great tidbit to keep in mind; that rarely will a 24-hour chunk of time be totally balanced with time for work, family, rest, and personal time, but if we can look at our weeks overall we can schedule the time to do the things that matter, use the pockets of time intentionally, and create a well-lived life.
Okay, I have to go now. Time to go pick up my son and get some much-needed hugs and kisses.
