I recently finished reading chapter five in Chapter After Chapter, a writing book by Heather Sellers. Chapter five was about slowing down life, proving that good writing takes time. Later that day I sat down to write. Dedicated to my minimum of 10 minutes a day. The catch – I was next to a squealing toddler.

Like many things during this season of my life, it didn’t seem like I was getting the luxury of taking my time.

Yesterday, I sorted some of my daughter’s clothes while she was in the room. As I was sorting and folding, I needed to frequently stop.

She wanted her rocking horse out of the corner.

I turned on the light switch so she could play with the fan remote.

I needed to redirect her from crawling into the box I was sorting clothes into.

She opened and closed the closet door about ten times, mostly with me inside.

My task took twice as long as if I would have if I were alone. So I guess you could say I slowed down. But I’m not sure this is what the author had in mind.

I know that this season will pass. My kids won’t always need immediate attention. I know there are years coming up where they will be locked in their rooms and I’ll have plenty of free time that I don’t want.

I’ve learned to embrace the chaos. Let her explore through things and make a bit of a mess. (Within limits of course! This rule-follower can’t live in complete chaos.) I’ve learned to choose my battles and find joy in watching her explore.

As a busy mom of toddler, this is just a snapshot of how I manage balancing my life. As a parent, how do you balance work and home life, navigate through life with multiple kids, or simply keep yourself engaged in your own pursuits amidst a busy home life?