I just returned from checking on my furry nephew Tiger, and the not-so-little tinker had had an accident in the house. After a quick check of the dog cam, my brother spotted he had done his business just ten minutes after the dog walker brought him back from his regular foray into the outside world.
What a silly lad.
Why am I talking about a greyhound’s poop? Well, it just shows that no matter how hard we try to control things, sometimes there will be poop, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The same goes for my four-month-old daughter, who recently ruined her entire outfit and forced me to carry out a full change in the back of the car during a rainstorm.
Maybe this is why they say you should never work with children or animals? No one even pays me to look after 2.5 greyhounds and a baby… but donations to Ellen’s nursery zoo are welcome.
Another spanner in the works appeared last week when I was stricken down with my annual cold (I wrote about this last year, too). I don’t get ill often, and I am impatient when I do, so this was very annoying indeed. Additionally, this was the first time I’d been unwell and had to prioritise someone else over myself. Waking up to do the night feeds in a flu-induced stupor was not fun.
Poop happens
All of the above just goes to show that you really cannot predict what’s around the corner. Thankfully, a few unexpected poops and a snotty nose are really not that much to deal with, given the wider context of what’s going on in the world. But I am still struggling with setting realistic expectations for my post-partum self.
I returned to my trusty therapy last week in an effort to sort out some of the worries bouncing about in my head. One of the main outcomes was that I am still trying to live up to my pre-baby expectations (which weren’t really that achievable anyway) and, since I am rarely meeting them, I feel bad about myself the majority of the time.
Before having a baby, I had a number of targets in my sights, some of these include:
Grow business turnover and profit YoY
Reach X sales each month
Work for X hours every week
Appoint X new clients
… the X figures are insignificant because it’s safe to say all of the above is completely unattainable. I was setting myself up to fail.
Just like we can’t predict when Tiger is going to poop in the house. Or when Potter (our oldest greyhound and my heart dog) is going to steal a load of spicy pepperoni and mozzarella cheese from a carrier bag and inhale it when we’re not looking. Or when the baby will wake up every hour for a week for no good reason….
We just don’t know what’s coming next. So, while I’m generally a fan of setting goals, I am taking this opportunity to reassess what I can realistically expect from myself and others.
I can’t expect to make £100k, read 100 books, run a half marathon, gain 1,000 newsletter subscribers and have a baby all in the same year. Even though there’s still a little voice in my head that says I should do it all and then cook a delicious meal with all fresh ingredients at the end of it…
Anyone else struggle with meeting their own unrealistic expectations? I’d love to know your thoughts over on Twitter @ContentByTheSea or reply to this email for a confidential chat.
If you liked this, you might also like:
That time I wrote about my rescue dogs:
Or when I shared some life lessons from my lovely late mam:
Recent past issues of Conversations By The Sea:
9 November: The last pasta sauce
26 October: I’m no mumpreneur
14 September: R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Finding out what it means to me
31st August: Giving up the balancing act
24th August: The longer I wait, the harder it gets
29th June: Coping with all of *this*
22nd June: Did you jump or were you pushed?
8th June: Why hitting pause is terrifying
1st June: I’m angry
25th May: To err is to human, but when to -er?
18th May: Can you ever be too prepared?