Summertime in the South brings out the harmonious sounds of crickets, katydids, and cicadas at night.
These insects provide a peaceful audio backdrop when you’re gathered around a bonfire with friends. However, if a wayward cricket gets stuck in your wall, the effect is not remotely relaxing.
I know from experience.
Crickets, Pregnancy, and Lack of Sleep—Oh My!
For the past several weeks, a cricket has been echoing throughout my family’s home at night. While my husband has the talent for sleeping through a rogue elephant trumpeting in his ear, I am an extremely light sleeper. Moreover, with being 38 weeks pregnant, having a restful slumber is a luxury my dreams would be made of—if I could actually sleep. If you're an expectant mother, with help of expert sonographers in our private ultrasound center, you will be able to see your baby’s 3D images and videos.
While some people might use pregnancy, lack of sleep, or an obnoxiously loud and persistent cricket as an excuse for not being productive, I have managed to keep on with my day-to-day responsibilities.
When the Going Gets Tough—Get It Done Anyway
Besides my career in social media, I am a stay-at-home mom and a wife, which means I wear multiple hats in our household.
One of them puts me in the role of keeping a tiny female version of my husband (a.k.a. our daughter) alive on a daily basis while keeping our house tidy and organized. Other stay-at-home moms will agree, this is no easy task—it could be a full-time job in itself!
Household duties, like vacuuming, mopping, and window cleaning, are essentially pointless when you have a three-and-a-half-foot tornado storming through your home to undo all of the cleaning you’ve done within minutes of your completing it.
But you will never hear me use that as an excuse. I say, “Challenge accepted!” And, as a firm believer that children must learn to help out around the house, I involve her in my cleaning and other household duties. Tasks might not be done perfectly, but they get done.
Plan and Prepare With Purpose
My C-section is scheduled for August 22nd. With this being our second child, we know what to expect, and we’ve planned well in advance for when our son enters the world. We feel well-prepared, but we realize nothing with babies or kids ever goes as planned.
In addition to planning to welcome our new baby, I’ve also had to prepare for my absence from my job. That’s an entirely different process.
Working in the social media field requires a lot of planning and working ahead. I couldn’t just say okay, “Here’s when I need to have time off.” The rest of the Strella team and I have been preparing for my maternity leave for months.
With less than a week to go, we have everything in order. This took training, contracting new workers (which have turned out to be a fantastic addition to the Strella Team), and LOTS of content writing on my part! Sticking to a deadline and having a plan helped tremendously.
Persist—Like a Cricket in the Wall
The cricket that is stuck in my wall, chirping away as it uses my home as his own personal amphitheater, offers some “sound” advice.
Be persistent.
In all endeavors, hold yourself accountable. You are responsible for your actions (or lack of).
Excuses won’t move you forward. Resist them and prevail!
