Life balance... can we really achieve it?

There's a great post floating around Facebook.  It is a triangle, with the points marked "happy kids,"  "clean house," and "your sanity."  It says "Pick 2!"  It gave me a good laugh, but also reminded me that most of us do NOT want to limit ourselves to "just" 2!

When many hear the word "balance," they may picture 2 sides of a scale, resting evenly. More often, the concept of "balance" is applied to our lives... as in we have NO balance! The demands of work, home, and relationships make it difficult to feel like we have it all.

Is "balance" in life really achievable?  I encourage people to look at balance as being "fluid." That is, picture the 2 sides of the scale moving up and down evenly.  This indicates that the scale is "balanced," without waiting for it to come to a complete stop.

Family life today requires us to conceptualize balance in "motion."  There needs to be a degree of flexibility, and some prioritizing as well.  Kids today are enrolled in more extra curricular activities than in generations past.  Who is shuttling them to their activities?  The parents! Many of whom are both working full-time. Weekends can be consumed by tournaments and competitions.  The concept of "family dinner"  is now often contained to take-out.  Add to this the school work commitments, and the week can be very overwhelming.

However, before parenthood, parents were individuals, with individual interests and activities.  It is important to maintain a connection with those components of our identities. Although this sounds good in "theory," it only adds to the overwhelm of a packed week!

That's where the concept of "balance in motion" comes in to play.  We are the primary role models for our children.  We need to show them what "balance" looks like. It does not need to be "all or nothing."  Making it to the gym twice per week may not be the same as the 5 times per week when you were childless, but it is absolutely  better than no workouts.  The idea of a "clean" house may seem like a silly fantasy.  However, being able to involve kids in cleaning gives them a sense of responsibility and connection to the family home. Yes, it will not be as good as when you do it, but it will be "good enough."   Parents also need to look at the number of activities they have their children enrolled in.  Two teams, plus music lessons, may be too much for the family's schedule, and it may well be too much for the child as well! We want our kids to learn about prioritizing and making choices.

We may not be able to have perfect balance, but we should be able to feel like we have a connection to the priorities in our lives.

Be well,