>I’m generally known for getting in over my head. Especially with a new baby in tow. After a few weeks the sleepless delirium sets in, and I start saying yes to all sorts of projects I have no time for. Because I work from home and make my own hours, I went back to work earlier than I should have when Frances (No.3) and Fiona (No.4) were born. I figured I was home anyway, hanging out with a newborn, I might as well get some work done. It always worked for a few weeks, but then, right when I had a big brief to write, or I’d hit a bump in my research, it would coincide with a patch of sleeplessness, a school vacation, a sick kid, a visiting relative.. something that would make working virtually impossible. I’d try to work, but I’d end up with a work product that looked like something.. a toddler would have done.

I got an email today, about an administrative mistake someone else made, and just as I responded to it, I tagged on the end: “By the way, I’m ready to take on work now.” I almost sent the email, almost dove back into a commitment I couldn’t handle, almost resigned myself to more toddler-esque work product, but then.. I didn’t. I erased the line.