The answer is simple.  I just have to change the number of days in the week from seven to ten.  Then I get five days with Bob and five days with the girls.  I knew all those years teaching homeschool math would pay off.

You laugh.  That’s seriously my plan.  I take Bob to the train station Sunday night so he can go to his radiation appointment at 9am on Monday.  I work here through Wednesday, then take the train down to the city Wednesday evening to be with him.  We both come back Friday afternoon, and we run the cafe per usual Saturday.

This is the solution we’ve come up with.  And here’s what I know:

There will be tears.

There will be frustrations.

There will be things forgotten.

There will be phenomenal memories.

In the midst of all this planning, a book landed on my desk for me to review:  Work, Parent, Thrive, by a fellow writer/academic and podcaster, Dr. Yael Schonbrun, host of Psychologists Off the Clock.  It was released this week.

I thought I was through the period in my life when I needed such a book.  My kids are nearly grown.  They don’t keep me up all night, they clear the table and wash the dishes, do their own laundry, and they work with the rest of us in the business.  They earn their own money, cover their own expenses.

On the surface, the book focuses on scientific research that serves working parents – things like the role of values in messy decision making; or how a simple mindset shift can result in less DNA damage and greater biological stress resilience.  But in truth, it’s about the psychology of balance — Which we all negotiate, whether or not there are small children at home.

And I’m fascinated.  I feel like I’m living a real-life lab experience, looking at how the science informs my own messy plans for the coming weeks.

Believe it or not, it helps me look at this cancer dance with fresh eyes.

This can be fun.

I always wanted more time.  Now I’m going to figure out how to add days to the week AND be two places at once.

Or not.

But I will be learning the entire time, laying it up against the research Dr. Schonbrun lays out.

This is a great read, folks.  I recommend it highly.

Book: Work, Parent, Thrive 

By Yael Schonbrun

ISBN: 9781611809657

Shambhala Publications, Inc.