Since I spent all day Monday tackling house items, Tuesday was about work. I’m on deadline for Serenity magazine this week, and I have a few larger freelance accounts that needed attention. Something about the clarity I got from cleaning carried over into my work day, and the sun was out in full-force. I started the morning with music and reading, squeezed in a workout, got dressed like a real human, and then sat down at my computer.

I can really finally admit that I wish my only two jobs were House and Book. Honestly, managing a family of four at this stage in life is incredibly time-consuming. Sometimes things are left undone in the name of accomplishing something else. I have a hard time letting this go, and I’m not the only working mother facing this plight. But freelancing not only detracts from family management, it makes creative space tricky too. Often, I’ll have to designate weeks to freelancing and weeks to my fiction writing. Sometimes it gets tricky moving back and forth. But I am so grateful for the work and the opportunity to fit it into my mom-schedule, and this was the impact the Monday cleaning had on my attitude. A reminder.

I spent the rest of the morning checking off work items, met a friend for lunch at Lariat Lodge, ran two quick errands in town, then posted up at Starbucks to finish up an interview and some more of my column and another article. It was productive in a different way, and I liked that.

My favorite part about this day though, was that when I got home from school pick-up, I was able to turn off all work—house and freelance. Everything was done. We made a family dinner for Taco Tuesday, caught up on each other’s days, and watched an episode of Family Matters, before winding down, brushing hair, and reading Harry Potter. I don’t get the balance every day, but today it felt like I did.