A Balancing Act

I believe in a good balance in life.

I like to work hard enough to appreciate my leisure time. I like (just) enough leisure activities to offset my work load. I need down-time where no one needs a piece of me to operate effectively. Too much of any-one-of-the-above and I feel like I have reached a tipping point where I am not effectively enjoying any one facet of my life.

I can feel when a 'correction' is needed within my own little balancing act. Presently I am in a bit of a shut-down-mode after a very full and interesting weekend.

I love, love, love to stay home and hibernate in the evenings. After spending ten hours in the company of one-to-four-year-olds every weekday, I very much enjoy not having to take care of anyone besides myself at night. Leaving the house takes a great deal of effort. Last night's obligations almost took me over the edge.

I need people just as much as I need solitude. I juggle that back and forth constantly. I crave adult intervention during my daycare days. I believe the reason that I rolled with the punches so effectively last week was because I had adult-diversions that carried me through my child-oriented days. It worked like a charm.

I don't mind sacrificing a little bit of my weekend to devote to my bookkeeping job. It has little to do with the pay cheque at the end of the month. It has everything to do with fulfilling a promise to someone who has entrusted me with the responsibility. I also appreciate the work experience that I am gaining. The biggest benefit is that of nurturing a friendship.

I have felt just a little bit overwhelmed as my weekend employment has encroached on living-my-life and has upset the delicate balance of work and play. So I have taken some pre-emptive measures and taken back my life. Just a little bit.

I have booked some 'adventures' with family and friends in the upcoming months. Little things. But oh-so-big, because I have neglected this aspect of living for so long. I can feel the equilibrium of work/play; family/friends; solitude/people returning to my life. And it feels good. So very, very good.

Perhaps this return of 'balance' has me overly sensitive. When I hear my Middle Son get up in the middle of the night to get ready to go to work and notice the lateness of the hour when he returns home at the end of that same day ... I am concerned. A person simply cannot be their best when their life consists of little more than working and sleeping.

I hope that he finds a balance that works best for him. A person can balance on the edge and teeter for only so long before you crash. Finding that balance within a new job takes perseverance. And patience. But once you find it ... you find a whole new level of enjoyment of life's little things.

It is a delicate balance and an ever-changing dynamic to keep things working at their best. You can't stand still on a high wire. Nor can you remain static in this thing-called-life. It is all a delicate balance of give and take, old and new, noise and quiet, work and play, yin and yang ...

It is a delicate, ever-changing balancing act - this thing called life. If you are feeling out of sorts, something must give. Listen to your heart. It knows which way to go.