Balancing Acts

I've been thinking about the way that most of the people I know seem to struggle with finding some sort of balance in their day to day lives. We all seem to be living a life that feels precariously balanced between joy and stress, work and family, obligations and abandon. How do we find the balance we crave?


I think I've been going about it all wrong. I've been thinking that balance is about my daily life. I've been trying to find ways each day to fit everything in. Work, managing a home, managing a family, making time for family fun, homework, shopping, errands, piano practice, lessons, reading to Sloane each day, listening to Sloane read each day, time talking to Jeffrey, time snuggling with Jeffrey, eating, cleaning, blogging, email, talking to my parents, connecting with friends... Holy cow! What about exercise? What about... you know? What about a hobby, a new skill, quiet time, writing in my journal, reading? There are not enough hours. It is physically impossible. No one can do everything they want or need to do.




Stick with me here. My revelation isn't the familiar, "choose your priorities because you can't have everything" thing. That's a good one, and true. But, I have something else. It feels big to me.

Life is cyclical, seasons change, fashions come back, everything is a circle. So. Why not my balancing act?

Yes. I can't do everything in one day.
Yes. There will be days when I work late and Sloane is stuck at school right along with me.
Yes. There will be times when the house is a wreck.
Yes. There will be entire weekends when we all play catch up and do nothing much but chores.
Yes. There will be friends I take a month to write back to.
Yes. My to do list will never be complete.
Yes.

So what?

That's it. That's my big revelation.

So what?

Yes. I can do everything I choose to. Just not all at once.
Yes. There will be entire months of summer where none of us work at all.
Yes. Most of the time the house is beautiful and full of laughter.
Yes. There are entire weekends when Team Lawson does nothing but play, laugh, eat, and enjoy each other.
Yes. There are friends who love me, no matter how long it takes me to write back.
Yes. My to do list will never be complete. What a dull life I would have otherwise.




Life is a cycle. So, I am going to shift my perspective. No more struggles with balancing my day to day life. It will never balance. But, my life is in balance. You may have to take the long view to see it. But, I have a long memory.

I can work, parent, play, laugh, blog, run errands, be a good citizen, teach, love. Love my husband, my daughter, my family, my friends, my neighbors, my students, my world. I can read, write, travel, learn, stretch, grow, be a friend, exercise, master a new skill, organize, decorate, connect. I can do it all. Just not all at once.

Here's to balance. One lifetime at a time.




Photographers: Michaela Rae, Pink Sherbert, Hickoree. Two of the images originally seen here.