A Juggling Act

Last week I talked about getting inspired. I mentioned how my father taught us, through his example, to live each day positively and full of kind doings for others. Lately I have been taking on far more than the twenty-four hour day will allow me to do (so much for trying to find "balance" in my life). My motivation for all of this getting inspired is Little Chick. My entire day is filled to capacity with things that I do for and with my daughter. Like my Dad, I want her to learn through my example. However, the one thing that I am not so good at is finding the time I need for myself to recharge. We all need it, but how many of us really set aside the proper time we actually require to re energize?

Having waited as long as I did to finally have Little Chick, I guess there is a part of me that simply can't let go of being a super dedicated mom for even a moment to refuel my individual being. This is where the "balance" I so desperately need comes into play. It is also the part where I have to remind myself (as all parents do) that without recharging our inner battery we will simply fizzle out.

The past few weeks I volunteered to do some special things in Little Chick's school for teacher appreciation week. It all sounded great when I offered and my creative mind was proud of what I was going to do, but the reality was that "time" was limited for me to be able to accomplish everything to the degree of what I consider well done. I am a bit of a perfectionist and have a hard time doing mediocre projects. So there I was up late every night working on getting each task done. My family kept saying that no one will ever know the amount of time and work that I did on these projects, but it came down to what I knew and most importantly what Little Chick saw her mommy preparing for her classroom.

This morning I brought the finished project to my daughter's school. As I started hanging my art pieces, Little Chick said to everyone that walked by, "Look what mommy made! I'm so proud of her." It was all worth it!!

In a parent's world it comes down to a juggling act each day. We have to prioritize and make sure that our children's needs are completely met emotionally, physically and spiritually. While perhaps these projects were entirely too time consuming for what my schedule allows for these days, the end result was truly priceless. I had accomplished what my father had done for us - teaching through example. Creating balance and recharging my inner self is still looming over my head. I guess we all have to start by recognizing exactly what will help us to refuel our minds, bodies and spirits. Next, we have to make the time to do it. And finally, we have to get rid of the "guilt" that comes with doing something purely for ourselves (something I so desperately need to learn).