What Does Balance Even Mean?

Balance- “a state of equilibrium, equal distribution of weight”- heard all of that before I am sure. It is also defined as “mental steadiness or emotional stability or habit of calm behavior.” What does this even mean? Is it realistic? Is it achievable? Is this another expectation that won’t be met? I guess my biggest question is “who determines what is balanced?” I say often that I do not like the word “normal” because who gets to decide what “normal” is- I would make the same argument for the word balance.

From the moment I was pregnant with my first child all I heard was “you have no idea how life if going to change.” It was true, I didn’t But I also would get frustrated and think “well of course my life is going to change.” People also used to say “balance” is the “B” word to a mom. Now being a mom of three (college and high school age) I can say balance has to be defined individually and it is subject to change. 

As moms we try to balance/juggle so much: being a mom,partner, employee, mother, sister, friend and maybe(hopefully) even sometime for ourselves. But how do we do it? I would venture to say oftentimes we feel we don’t do it or we certainly don’t do it well. You have to find what feels the best to you- it’s personal/individual. Not everyone has all of the roles mentioned above- some have even more but just make sure that you as an individual don’t get lost in the chaos. You can’t fill a cup from an empty cup. 

This time of year is full of additional roles to the ones mentioned above: cookie baker, gift buyer, gift wrapper, holiday meal prepper, decorator, the list could keep going. But make sure you are not pushed to the bottom of that list- sometimes stress increases when we aren’t doing things for ourselves. It doesn’t have to be anything big- it can be as simple as a bath where you lock the door and no one can barge in! Something you enjoy and that might make you feel a little more, dare I say l, balanced?