August 16, 2025

Facts about Founder and Family

Getting ready for another child’s birthday party bumped the blog post from Friday night to Saturday again. Last evening I decided I was too exhausted to blog after emptying out a carload of clearance party items and Walmart food. Decided that Walmart on a Friday night is not my favorite (but I spent all day finishing up the library hikes with my 4 kids and getting my most social teen son to a birthday hang out) and I needed to do my shopping before my prep. It was crowded and a little creepy at times (a story for another day), but I ran into a sweet friend who is also family on my husband’s side by marriage and we made plans to go second-hand shopping when the kids are back in school. And I am really looking forward to it!! Mom and I are very big into thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment shops and sales and I have found friends that share my passion for great deals also.

As a sandwiched adult, however, it’s very difficult to decide how to spend one’s precious VERY LITTLE spare time. For me it doesn’t count if my kids are along or if Mom or Dad is with me. And with regard to my husband it absolutely depends on what kind of mood I’m in or he’s in and what we plan to do. Often it’s quality time when I am with my family, but it’s not that incredibly rare special free time that I almost never get.

If it’s truly free time it’s quite fulfilling for me to head to a coffee shop, restaurant or spa especially with a friend or group of friends who truly get me. But I have to fight the urge to use the quiet to catch up on errands that need to be done (while looking for a few fun things that I’m shopping for at the same time and planning ahead to find things for the next child’s party) or to get work done for work while it’s quiet or to clean up the never-ending dumpster fire mess in my house.

I know in my gut how badly I need space and time just to rest and recharge after having the kids all summer (that’s no joke trying to keep them from truly fighting and desperately trying to keep them from way too much screen time). But I also want to re-connect with my friends who understand me and to have a whole uninterrupted cup of coffee and conversation. This feels like a need also. And our family benefits from improved order around here and needs the errands to be done so if my husband had his way I would spend every spare moment making sure the errands are done and, especially, that the house is in fantastic order.

The struggle is real to find balance in it all and to fill those open hours when there’s not an appointment or an occasion to prepare for and my parents don’t have an immediate need and I am not working and the kids are busy usually at school and the dog does not have an appointment or a need either. And I haven’t even started talking about how meals always need to be made usually by me.

While sandwiched, what’s left after all of that is almost nothing. And I am very fortunate to work part-time or there really would be no spare time.