From Highland Park to Hainesville, the Lake County suburbs are vast and everyone is looking for that parent who’s just like them. This month we’re taking a look “Behind the Trike” and meeting the parents who bring Lake County to you every day. today we’re meeting Cheryl our “Overcommitted & Hyper-tasking Mom”
What is the hardest for you in work life balance?
The daily grind. My kids only play one or two sports each season, but I still feel like we’re always running around. I make a point to try to find time for myself, work, exercise, volunteer, clean, cooking, laundry, errands, etc.…. I make my kids my top priority, but I feel like time for date nights with my husband, a solo afternoon jog, or curling up with a cup of coffee and a book hardly ever happens. And life is too short; I need to find a better way to fit it all in.
What do you do to recharge?
Plan a vacation day! Having a paid day off is lovely (and the best part about working, quite frankly). Planning something fun to do with my kids on my next day off and looking forward to it for a few weeks is almost as enjoyable as the actual day itself!
Best advice (and from whom) you have received as a mom….as a business person?
I think I have received advice from every working mom I know (whether it was just observing their actions or an actual conversation); we all need each other, and I thrive off of those relationships. The best advice I have received is that achieving balance isn’t a daily thing; it’s a cyclical thing. You can’t excel at everything all in one day, but chunk out the time into weeks or even months and see if you’re achieving the balance you seek.
Favorite outdoor spot?
Hands Down – Independence Grove. I met these five fabulous women (shout out to the dwonderbra’ds) training for the Avon Breast Cancer 3-day Walk in 2001. We used to “break-in” to Independence Grove off the Des Plaines River trail before it was even finished and talk about how we couldn’t wait for it to be open to the public. It really lives up to all my expectations, even now. I think it’s beautiful all year round. I love going there for a walk, bike ride, jog, swim, picnic, or photo adventure with my family and friends.
Best class or activity you have done with your kids?
A Playground Crawl. Flipping through the Mundelein Park District book last year, I noticed there are 22 playgrounds in our town. I have been to only a handful of them, and I have lived here for over 15 years. This needed to change! I was also driven by something a co-worker said. She had an 11-year old and mentioned, “my kids are too old to go to the park.” I didn’t think that could ever happen, but I was worried my boys wouldn’t enjoy it as much as they did now. So the week before school started, a day had the weather report of “abundant sunshine” calling our name. I mapped out all 22 playgrounds in order of what made sense for traveling. The first 18 we’d travel to by car. In the last 4, we’d head home and bike. We’ll stop for bathrooms, snacks, and lunch as necessary and take about 15-20 minutes at each park. Don’t forget the camera….we’re off! We had most of the parks to ourselves that Wednesday and found some really cool hidden treasures in our town, just a few blocks away. It was my favorite day with my kids EVER!
Cheryl lives in Mundelein with her husband and 2 sons (11 and 7). She loves photography, jogging, and is frequently over-committed with all the volunteering she does!
Read more from Cheryl
Cheryl is an aspiring writer from Mundelein. You can now follow her on her author journey on Amazon.
Get a copy of her first book, Letter’s to my Children, available on Kindle now.
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