BALANCE

I really relate to this painting. It is fittingly titled "The Balancing Act." The artist, James C. Christensen, said about it:

"Life is a balance between fun and work, spiritual qualities, education, nutrition … our lives are continuously balancing acts. Of course, some of us make it a little more complex by putting our only balancing foot on the back of a moving turtle. Why are there three clocks in the image? Because we’re always balancing time. There are many specific symbols in the image. Most of them are far from obscure, but the little neat secrets include a king statue, the symbol of the omnipresence of politics and government. The skull is a spring hare skull, with a little label that reads “spring hare – lost race.” It’s a joke, but it also symbolizes mortality. The owl and the pussycat represent marriage, which is a major balancing act. The Latin in the image means “Equilibrium (balance) is to be desired.” In other words, as long as you remain upright, you’re okay." Earlier this year, back when it's traditional to make goals and New Years resolutions, I noticed a trend. Instead of making a list of resolutions, people were finding a scripture or a single word that would be their focus or motto of the year. Something to keep in mind or shape everything they did. I found that interesting and immediately knew what my word would be. BALANCE. Last year I felt like my BALANCE was totally off. Especially in the spring and summer, as I was heavily involved in "Pirates of Penzance" and also trying to train for the triathlon and bike races. I felt like my responsibilities as a wife, mother and homemaker were sliding. That I was doing the minimum to get by. And it all translated into me feeling like I was flying by the seat of my pants. I did not know if it was because I had bitten off more than I could chew, or if it were simply me not prioritizing my time well.
And so, as the New Year started, I had the opportunity to join the cast of "Power In His Touch." I was also starting to look into races for this year. And then I remembered last summer, how hard and crazy it had been. So I thought long and hard about it all. And I decided that maybe this could be an experiment in BALANCE. Because the more I thought about it, the more I thought I probably could handle it all...if I watched things more closely. And was willing to step back if I had to.So BALANCE has been my focus the past few months. I even custom ordered the word in vinyl to put up on my wall as a constant reminder. I think I've done okay so far. Like any goal, it's always a work in progress. There have been days where Bryan has come home to me gone...but dinner on the table, a clean house and happy children. There have also been days where I've slacked and things have been a disaster. But overall, I think I'm doing better...I think it's working. I've pulled out of rehearsals to go to pack meetings and Jr. High choir concerts. After working for months, I did not end up competing in my NATS voice competition because it conflicted with Brandon's state gymnastics meet and he really wanted me there. A few days ago I made the (hard) decision to not audition for "Jane Eyre" because I felt I should probably focus any free time on the bike and running races coming up. It's hard to BALANCE. I want to do it all. Decisions on how best to spend my time can be difficult and sometimes come with regret. But that's life. And I'm pretty happy with my life.