Where Did the Balance Go?

Balance is a tricky one to describe. I think we often confuse being a working mom  and balancing  it all flawlessly. The “it all” part becomes perfectly aligned and perfectly balanced at the same time. Not so.

How many of you can raise your hand and say all is in balance, all the time. I suppose it’s possible for some and if you are one holding that secret, bottle up the magic potion and sell it on eBay!

Finding balance is not about the perfect alignment of the kids, work and home. Once in a while things get thrown off, really thrown off.

At work, my manager recently quit and a co-worker walked off the job leaving me and another co-worker to carry the load of our small department. Talk about throwing a wrench into the balancing act! We’re picking up the slack for two people plus working our own jobs.

Then, my little guy got sick right in the midst of the crazy work week. My hubby and I had to figure out who was staying home, which day and for how many days. Things felt completely off for most of the week.

Why am I sharing my out of balance week?

For me, balance comes in the moments I feel peace. It may be when I am hugging my babies, taking time for meditation, practicing deep breathing exercises or talking with my hubby. I hugged my little ones a lot this week and  I have a dinner planned with just me and hubby tonight. Getting those moments back helps me manage the feeling of balance. It’s calming.

I won’t pretend I haven’t felt overwhelmed or frustrated during this week of work craziness, but I try to keep two things in  perspective when I feel like a crisis has hit.

1. Sometimes there will be things that happen that are beyond my control… it simply is what it is.
2. And the situation is what I make of it. That means, I put the positive foot forward and  turn it into something good. Of course, it’s a work in progress!

How do you find balance?