Every Limbo Boy and Girl

I have pretty much always flown by the seat of my pants.  When we had our first child, people couldn't believe she was our first--we didn't make nap or feeding schedules, and we were remarkably calm about all things baby.  We just took it as it came.  Even when we had three kids and multiple babysitters to get them here, there, and everywhere, and weekly notes to keep it all straight, we remained "take it as it comes."  True, a last-minute change could topple our proverbial "house of cards," but we would put it back together and move on.

Freelancing, however, has sent "take it as it comes" to a whole new level.  Now the house of cards has turned into a game of limbo.  When I follow a job lead, while 80% of my brain may be writing an awesome cover letter, at least 30% of my brain (yes, I know that's 110%--it takes that much sometimes!) is trying to process what child care I will need if I get the job and it starts two days from now.  Will I have time to teach the babysitters the current routine?  Will any of our former babysitters even be available, given that we haven't used them in months?  But wait, the job fell through, so never mind.  Limbo.

Activities are the same story.  Do I say yes to the things the kids want to do, in the hopes that the work and the money will come through to fund them, or no, because we're just not sure.  Limbo.

Can we plan to take a trip during a school vacation, or will I need to be home for the work that might come?  Limbo.

When my daughter, the infant with the "take it as it comes" parents was a baby, "what came next" was no more complicated than a bottle of milk and a diaper change.  Now, at 14, she knows better.  She lives every day with my limbo, and the pieces of her life can't help but be held in limbo too.  Limbo is hard, and sometimes she just says, "Yes or no, just give me an answer so I can move on." 

Would that limbo in life were as simple as limbo the game--you could just make yourself smaller or thinner or more flexible, and you'd be guaranteed to win.  In the life version, no guarantees.  Just the chance to keep playing the game.