I am no Claire Huxtable!

I love the character Claire Huxtable on the Cosby Show. She seemed to have it all together. She always looked beautiful, had a successful career, house always looked perfect, and all she had to do was give her kids a look and they knew she meant business. She just made it all seem so effortless and most of all she hardly ever complained. Ah...the life of a television mom!

Everyone who knows me knows that I put my all into everything I do. I am not perfect and I make many mistakes however, it isn't because I haven't tried my best to do whatever it is efficiently. I typically don't complain. I know what my responsibilities are as a wife, mother and educator and just like many of you I try with all my might to be the best woman I can be. Period. But that can be exhausting.

When the ability to do your best without complaining or without much help at all becomes a burden, this is what I call the Curse of the Efficient. Now being efficient can be both a blessing and a curse. When people know that they can count on you it makes you feel great to know that you are considered a competent person. You can feel a sense of pride to know that you are thought of so highly. For example, let's say you are that go-to person at work who your boss depends on because they know that 1. you will do a great job. 2. you do it without complaining. At first that can make you feel like a valuable asset in your company. However, after a while this can also become a burden especially when you are constantly being relied on. This can lead to extreme BURN OUT.

The curse of the efficient can make you just want to start screwing everything up on purpose. Maybe I "forget" to do the laundry, cook and clean for a few weeks. Maybe I "forget" to buy the gift for the birthday party you have to go to in an hour. Maybe I "forget" to make my lessons fun and engaging this week. Maybe I don't always say "yeah, no problem" when asked to do one more thing on my already demanding list of things to do! How about that?

The truth is that I am no Claire Huxtable but I am also no screw up. Sometimes we have so many people depending on us that we don't think we have time to slow down. It's all about finding that balance. Maybe I don't join one more committee at work. Maybe I delegate more responsibilities at home to my very capable teenage daughter. Maybe I continue doing everything to the best of my ability and stop being so hard on myself when I can't meet everyone's expectations. Yeah, I am going to give this a try. I'll let you know how it goes!