Doing It All

I kind of do a lot of things.  I have three young, active kids, a workaholic husband, and a puppy.  We own our own business.  I am the erstwhile president of a fledgling neighborhood association and I'm leading or co-leading two Daisy scout troops.  I write here.  I write elsewhere.  I do a lot with and for my friends and family.  I volunteer quite a bit of time for the kids' school.  And people often ask me (and I'm not saying all this to toot my own horn, I do have a point...) "How do you do it all?"

Two answers:

1) I have a lot of help.  I have a network of available and willing babysitters, including a grandpa who lives right down the street.

2) I don't watch TV.  I would guess that I average a total of an hour of TV a day, and most of that is when my husband turns on The Daily Show before bed.  Occasionally we'll watch Saturday Night Live, or I'll watch CBS Sunday Morning (that I've recorded) while I'm folding laundry.  Sometimes I watch The Big Bang Theory or Doctor Who, but most of the time if I have a choice, I'd rather listen to a podcast or watch a movie.  (I'm an absolute podcast addict - The Moth, Radiolab, This American Life, The History Chicks, all the How Stuff Works ones.  Love).

No one can "do it all" without help.  You have to be willing to ask for (and to receive!) help.  Sometimes you have to be willing to pay for help.  I try to barter for help when I can ("you watch my kids, I'll watch yours,").  Help is essential, because no one can be an effective parent alone.  It's really just not possible.  Stop trying, you're killing yourself.

And TV is just a colossal waste of time.  There's nothing good on, anyway.  You'd be amazed at how much you can get done when you turn the damn thing off and start living your life.  I was flipping through People magazine today while Mary Grace was in the dentist's chair, and I was astonished at how few of the celebrities I recognized.

I think that's a sign of a life being well-lived, don't you?

How do you "do it all"?