Balance

I realize in my life that one of the most important things contributing to my sense of happiness is balance.    Work, play, family, friends, self, and exercise...all priorities in my life, all with their place, all necessary in my "big picture."  I find my stress levels rise as soon as the balance shifts too heavily towards one thing or too far away from another.

And here we are, August 11, with the start of school just around the corner.
And any balance that I have achieved this summer will soon be gone, and I will have to find a new balance.  And that really stresses me out. 

How do I spend the last days of summer?

Do I relax on the deck and read a magazine?  Do I paint the walls?  Do I play on the floor with my kids?  Do I get on the computer and do some school work?  Do I go for a run?  Do I go to the museum or to the pool with the kids?  Do I go shopping?  Do I organize?  Do I go visit my friends?  Do I clean the house?  Do I set up playdates?  Do I get a babysitter and spend some time with John?  Do I take a moment to write a blog post?

How do I spend the last days of summer?  And how am I going to do all of the things that I want to do once school starts?

The reality is that I am not going to be able to do all of the things that I want to.  But hopefully, I will be able to find some balance. 

Balance is something I need to be happy.  Balance, however, is one of the hardest things for me to achieve.

But as I begin this new school year in a couple of short weeks, my resolution is to continue to strive towards that goal.  Balance...and perspective.