Striking a Balance

Balancing my many roles of Wife, Mom, Teacher, Maid, Cook, Friend, Daughter, Sister and Writer is something that I struggle with daily. From the emails I receive, I know that I am not the only one with this dilemma. It seems to be one of the things all women have in common – the quest to find balance in life and hush the never ending to-do list in our minds. As homeschooling moms, on top of all the other balancing acts we are performing, we also have to find a way to balance the busyness of the day and all the items on that to-do list with the fun moments that truly make the entire journey worthwhile.

As we bring this series on experiencing joy to a close, I only thought it appropriate to address ways that we can practically participate in those family traditions and rituals while still fulfilling the other roles our families need us to perform. The first step I took to strike this balance was something I learned on a retreat I attended late last year. My sweet friend Chelsea told me that she was completely exhausted just thinking about my day and all the things that I tried to accomplish . . . and the guilt that I carried around from not crossing all those items off of my list. She helped me to see that to have peace and joy in my life, what I needed to do was become intentional and plan. I needed to figure out what REALLY needed to be done around the house, the activities I needed to be a part of (if any), and how many from-scratch gourmet meals I needed to fix each week to feel good about myself. Most importantly, I needed to get my husband’s input. Then I just do what is on his list! It is wonderful if you can be Mommy Mrs. Perfect, but for the rest of us, the important thing is that your family knows how much they are loved. Wendy told me something that has stayed with me, “One thing’s for sure, my dear children do not worry about cleaning, mopping, laundry, dishes, etc; But they will say, ‘Mom, you didn’t sit with me and talk’ or ‘Mom, you don’t play with me.’"

Secondly, I put all but one of my yahoo groups on “no mail.” Those groups can be invaluable in the wisdom you can receive, but that wisdom is also provided by searching the archives. Chances are that they have discussed every topic you can think of at least twice anyway! Stopping all those emails from coming into my inbox every morning immediately lightened my load and helped calm me down.

Now, I’ve only been a Mommy for 3 ½ years so I thought it best to get insight on this balance thing from some much more seasoned veterans. An overriding tip was . . .

To read the rest of this article, please visit me at Heart of the Matter Online.