The Elusive Balance

Sometimes as a mother, with my endless list of 'to-do's I lose sight of what will mean the most in the end. I rush my kids from one errand to another and worse yet, get testy in the process. This results in a grouch girl and a boy who sighs with great exasperation, "Oooookay Mama." I may achieve a lot but no one is really happy in the end. Daily I'd strive for balance and find myself praying for something to help me.

All I can say is to be careful what you pray for, because the Lord certainly hears it! With Kent gone on another scout camp out, I was stressed with all the things needing to be done. Then the car broke down and repairs were going to require several days. The idea of being trapped at home for days without my husband and 2 active children was a nightmare to say the least. But here I was, and what could I honestly do about it?

So I slowed down physically and began racking my brain for creative ways to keep my son occupied. We finally settled down to put together some drawers for my Ikea bookshelf. This was daunting to me, being as mechanically impaired as I am, and doing it with a little boy at my side asking a BAZILLION questions was challenging. But we managed really well (after much fervent prayer!) and it became fun. It was much like a surgeon and a surgeon's assistant, he'd count screws for me, pass me the needed tool, look at the directions and point to the appropriate holes. An hour latter we were both elated with the results - he, because he 'built' something (like Bob the Builder) and I, because I built something AND IT WORKED! and I didn't kill my son in the process. I'm sure the task could have taken me only 20 mins or so, but the extra time was worth it. It was a balance of sorts, goal achieved and a happy child. It was so much fun we did another one that afternoon. Now if I could do this with everything else!