Maternity Leave

Sharon July 20th, 2012

Hi Folks – The more I look at my life, the more I think I’m not doing things as well as I could be – too many balls in the air.  Many of the things I care about are paying a price.   The addition of the chronic sleep deprivation that goes with a new baby is pushing me to strip down my life to the bare minimum.

What’s frustrating me most is that writing and online work are taking up time I should be spending on sustainability measures – while I’m writing about the joys of pickling, I’m not actually making pickles with the kids.   For a long time this was manageable, but right now, with a two week old, it just isn’t.

There’s also the fact that I wasn’t a professional author when I had my first four boys – I was a farmer and a Mom who could pay attention to what was going on online or not, as needed.  I wrote because I needed an outlet, but I had the luxury of no one caring if I put anything up for weeks  or months.  Now I feel like the internet is always on, at least in the back of my head – and that this baby isn’t getting the kind of attention that my others did.  I want the luxury of just sitting there with a baby in my arms and not feeling guilty about it.

So I’m going to take six months maternity leave – I’ve always made the statement that the “you can have it all” idea was garbage – so why would I try and live it?   I will be updating this blog and www.sharonastyk.com once per week, on Thursdays. My goal is longer and more thoughtful posts, a la John Michael Greer, but if the sleep deprivation continues until morale improves, who knows, it might be all gibberish.  Note that on this blog, that would often mean me updating MORE OFTEN, so that’s good.

Something will go up once a week, but the rest of the time is for home and family until the baby sleeps, the harvest is in, the publicity push for _Making Home_ over, the new book written, and the baby goats grown to sale size.

I’ll still be around – I promised I’d run the food preservation class in August during the canning season, and so I will, and you can always email, but I’m going to slow the pace and concentrate on what’s important. I’ll be back to my more regular schedule Feb. 1 or sooner if the baby leaves ;-(.  Or if I go mad with stuff to write about.

13 Responses to “Maternity Leave”

  1. Raven says:

    Good for you! Love on that baby, make the pickles, and be the mama-the internet will always be here when you get back.

  2. Cheri says:

    Sharon, your presence will be missed (in fact your name came up in the last day or two on Homesteading Today Countryside Families as someone who is missed!), but you are doing the right thing (imho).

    Best wishes to you as you care for your family and cuddle that precious little one.

  3. NM says:

    Good for you. Best wishes, and enjoy that precious little one.
    And if life interferes with your once-a-week posts, because, you know, it will, no feeling guilty about it! We’re grownups, and we will be fine.

  4. Raye says:

    Hasta luego, que Dios te bendiga.

  5. Evey in WV says:

    Good for you! Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, including the big ones as long as they’ll let you.

  6. c. says:

    I’ve always wondered at what point bloggers shift from more content to more quality and less content. I guess it’s an individual thing as REAL life takes precedent. I vote yes for your smart decision. I’ve been watching this slow shift with other writers. 10 posts a week to 5 a week, to 3 a week, to one a week. As a reader I find it excellent as giving me ONE thing to mull over or go do means I actually mull it over or go do it and then come back for more the next week instead of always feeling behind, like I can’t keep up with the thoughts and life of my favourite writers.

    Many thanks to you and give that baby all the love it can get.

  7. Claire says:

    Enjoy your leave! We’ll all still be here when you are ready and able to write more. The baby, and your family and farm, need you now.

  8. Mary Walker says:

    Take and enjoy your rest. You are right about the myth of ‘having it all.’ Generally, that means you are not doing anything as well as they should be done. Unfortunately, balance is one of the things that have been thrown out in our modern world. Restoring it is so necessary.

  9. Emily says:

    Yes, yes, yes! Family is most important. It has to be. You are absolutely doing the right thing.

  10. Marija says:

    I don’t blame you for taking time off to focus on your family and daily work. “Having it all” is definitely a myth!

    I very much look forward to your next book. I devoured your first two!

  11. Ellen Bremer says:

    Very smart, but I already knew that! Good luck and have fun, enjoy!

  12. Thrift Store Mama says:

    Good for you. What a lucky baby to have found its way to your home and also, what a good example you are setting for your older kids.

  13. ruth says:

    Good luck with the night feeds! I have already ordered the book and cant wait for it to come out : ) Im also hoping to enrol in the food preservation class x
    PS I really respect the lack of ads on your site especially after visiting another blog site and being faced with some kind of porn site ad that had come through their ‘adchoice’ stream.

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