I’m often asked what I do. This usually means I suppose, where I work or whom I work for. Such a pity this has to be asked in the first place, but these ARE modern times, aren’t they?
Without getting on a soapbox about the pros and cons, the good and the bad of this past century’s feminist movement and the current crisis of the role of women in general, this post is about the wearing of many hats in a more classic role of today’s woman.
In answer to the question of who I work for, well, God of course. That’s whom we all technically work for, even if we are not (yet) aware of our own purpose in life. Unlike most employers, He is patient, kind, forgiving, quick to help, courteous, constant and unchanging, gentle, impartial, comforting, and did I mention patient?
So, what do I “do”? This is where the many hats come in. You may find many of your own hats in my little list and you will also realize that each one of them could be broken down into a million other little hats, aka, responsibilities, purposes, tasks, etc.; Wife, Mother, Homemaker, Gardener, Farm Keeper, Caregiver, Bookkeeper, Friend, Teacher, Chauffeur, Chef, Counselor, and more recent years, the most fun of all, Grandmother!
Like most people of today’s time, we are all being pushed to perform and look busy and yet at the same time, we’re told to do it the easy way by just “pushing a button” -- from the click of the computer to send our work or message, to pushing the washing machine button, the dryer button, the dishwasher button, the button to start the car, the cell phone button so we can drive by and have someone load the groceries in our car after we have pushed the button to open the hatch. Do I need to elaborate on how society has condensed much of our work into instantaneous drudgery for the simple purpose of having more time to add even more to our workload?
There were times over the years when, without realizing it, I tried to wear too many hats at once. This often led to burnout. It can happen all to quickly and it takes a long time to make the proper changes and undo the damage. There were also times when I didn’t want to wear many hats at all, which I realized later led to not living up to my potential and real purpose in life.
The older I get, the more I have learned to live in the moment, in the present, and since the present is the only moment I have to live in, I do it slower and with more attention to the purpose of the moment. Each hat that I wear is given my full attention now. I regret the moments gone by that were not given my full attention.
We all have many hats to wear, and it is our responsibility to wear each one of them well. For the moment though, HATS OFF to all of us trying to do a good job of it!
~ Gwen of IRISH ACRES